When it all Falls Down
by Dana1
Summary: Punk's found himself the target of someone's anger. New friends and new enemies may change the direction of Punk's career as everything just suddenly falls down.
1. It Starts

Title: When it all Falls Down

Author: Dana

Rating: PG

Warnings: Wrestling violence probably some curse words.

Summary: 7/30/12 was the day things changed for CM Punk and this is how everything just suddenly fell apart.

Author's note: Complete AU of 7/23/12 RAW.

Disclaimer: I own no one in this fic that you recognize.

I don't know how long this will last  
I'm praying for the pain to pass  
But maybe this is the best thing  
That has ever happened to me  
'Cause my whole world is caving in

Fall Part by Josh Wilson

CM Punk did his commentary trying to ignore Lawler's attacks at him for turning his back on the WWE Universe last week. He didn't turn his back on the fans. He set out to prove to Rock that he didn't deserve a title match and he did that. He really couldn't care less who he won the match tonight. He had faced both John Cena and Big Show in matches and had beaten both of them. Truth be told, he'd rather face Cena but he'd face either.

He looked down at his watch and didn't see Cena until he went crashing into his him. He flipped over the back of the chair and landed hard with Cena right on top of his arm. Pain shot through his arm. He watched as Cena rolled off of him and he grabbed his arm. Something didn't feel right.

He watched as Cena hit the attitude adjustment on Big Show. He stood up grimacing in pain and watched as Cena got the 1 2 3.

There were cheers from the fans and he heard Lawler ask if he was all right.

CM Punk ignored him and headed to the ring. He thought he should at least congratulate Cena or something. He didn't know what possessed him to go into the ring. His arm was killing him.

Big Show was not moving in the ring and Cena was raising both his arms to the fans cheers. He turned to face Punk and stuck out his hand.

CM Punk looked down at it and then looked back at Cena. Cena was looking at him with a smile on his face.

"You owe me," he said.

Punk shook his head and grabbed his hand. He was suddenly pulled off of his feet and hit with an Attitude Adjustment. As he landed, pain shot through his arm once again. Before Punk blacked out he could hear the fans booing.

Cena walked away without saying anything.


	2. Main Event

Notes: Special thanks to Jules for ideas for next chapter.

* * *

"Punk!" A voice yelled as Punk made his way to the back.

He turned around to see the new General Manager, AJ, walking his way. Just what he didn't need. He thought about keep walking but decided against it.

He sighed. "What?" He asked when AJ had caught up to him.

"I just want you to know that the match at Summerslam will be you vs. John Cena. For the title."

"I know." Punk said moving his belt to the other arm and grimaced when he did so. "I was out there."

AJ's face fell. Punk sighed.

"Look I'm sore and I'm tired so let's talk about this later." He walked away before she could say anything. He walked to his locker room and found John Cena was in there changing. This was not his night. He walked to the locker and took a shower. When he exited the shower he found the locker room empty. He had wanted to ask Cena why he had attacked him but it didn't look like he'd get the chance. His arm was killing him and he wasn't sure he was up to another physical confrontation.

He grabbed his bag and walked out of the locker room. Lawler and Cole were standing near the Gorilla Position talking. They both stopped when they saw Punk. He ignored them and walked towards the exit. He got in his rental car and went back to the hotel. He grimaced in pain most of the ride. His arm hurt a lot.

* * *

Josh Mathews impatiently awaited the arrival of John Cena. He had been given the task of interviewing Cena that night. He was supposed to find out why John Cena attacked CM Punk.

John Cena walked past him without giving him a second look. Josh Matthews hurried up to him. "John! John can I ask you some questions?"

Cena turned around to face Matthews. "I'll say what I have to say in the ring," he said and walked away.

Josh watched Cena walk away surprised by the answer. Cena was usually very receptive to interviewers. He was usually the easiest person to talk to. He walked over to the Gorilla position to await his next instructions.

* * *

At the top of RAW John Cena's music hit.

"Maybe we'll finally get some answers about why Cena attacked Punk," Lawler said. He like Matthews had been surprised by Cena's actions. Cena was one of his favorite wrestlers.

There was tremendous boos. Even Lawler couldn't cover them up.

Cena stepped into the ring with the mic in his hand. "I'm not going to sit down and whine about how someone's stealing my spotlight. You all know me better then that. I don't whine. I get things done. All I've been asked this week is why I attacked Punk."

There was a loud CM Punk chant from the crowd. Cena chose to ignore them for the moment.

"He is my opponent at Summerslam," Cena continued, "That is why I attacked him. I don't care what the WWE Universe thinks about. You were never behind me anyway. You always cheer the anti hero."

There was loud booing.

"What is he doing King," Cole asked.

"I give my all to every single one of you week in and week out and all I ever hear is Cena sucks. When I wrestled Punk two weeks ago on RAW's 1000th show, Punk was cheered. Things are going to change around here."

Cult of Personality blasted through the arena.

The fans went nuts. Cena scowled as he turned towards the entrance of the arena. Punk came out with his belt around his waist. The fans were on their feet cheering so loudly that Cena could have sworn the arena was shaking.

Punk walked out and climbed through the ropes. He grabbed the mic that was offered to him by Frank.

Punk turned to face Cena's glare. "Now you know how it feels to be interrupted," Punk said. "I'm not out here looking for an explanation for why you attacked me. I probably deserved it after not helping you out during our title match. But you know why I didn't help you. It was nothing personal and I gave you time to recover before I got the ref."

Cena's scowl deepened.

"I look forward to our match at Summerslam John," Punk continued. "Whether the fans cheer you or me it doesn't matter. I'll beat you just like I always beat you."

Big Show's music hit. They turned their attention to the entrance once again.

Big Show walked to the ring and stepped over the top rope and climbed into the ring. "I deserve the title match." He said getting in the face of boy the challenger and champion. "You already had your title match and you didn't win the title Cena. I shouldn't have had to face you for the title shot."

AJ's music started and she walked out.

"I disagree Big Show," AJ said, "John Cena won the title shot fair and square and he is going to get the title shot at Summerslam but I'm out here to talk about the match tonight. Tonight John Cena and CM Punk will team together to face Big Show and," she stopped and thought for a moment. "Daniel Bryan."

She turned around and walked away leaving three shocked men in the ring.


	3. Snapped

Notes: I don't know what it is with Diet Pepsi's and me but just a reminder, their feud did start with a spilled diet soda.

Later that night Punk was standing in the back trying to tape up his sore arm. He knew that would make him a target especially to someone that was as technically gifted as Daniel Bryan but he felt he should do something about his arm. It was still bothering him from last week. He had thought about seeing a doctor but he had wrestled in more pain then this.

He found his spare elbow pad and put it on. He was about to sit down and lace up his wrestling boots again when something was set down on the bench next to him. He looked at it and saw it was a Diet Pepsi.

He looked up at Cena who shrugged. "Consider it a peace offering," he said. "We need to be on the same page if we are going to beat Big Show and Bryan."

Punk nodded and went back to lacing up his boots. He didn't have time to drink the Diet Pepsi but he appreciated it. He'd save it for after the show. "Let's just do this the same way we did it the last time we tagged together. Follow my lead."

Cena went over to his bag and pulled out his armbands and started putting them on. "Let's just see what happens out there Punk," he said as he grabbed his hat and put it on. "I'll see you out there." He said and walked out of the room.

Punk had a bad feeling about this match but he put it aside. It wouldn't be the first time he teamed with people who didn't like him.

* * *

Daniel Bryan was the first one to go to ringside. He was greeted by a mixed reaction. There was the usual Yes! From some fans and for once he ignored them. He decided not to let it bother him. He was going to be in this match to prove to AJ that he should get a title match also.

Big Show came out to huge boos but he brushed them off. Unlike Punk, he didn't expect the fans to respect him. They were not important to him. They were just an annoyance and he didn't understand why some wrestlers depended on them.

Next to come out was John Cena. Much like Bryan, he received a mixed reaction. As soon as the music ended, the boos started and they, like always, out numbered the cheers. He tried as always to not let them bother him. It was match time.

CM Punk came out to a huge pop. He squatted down and did his usual routine. He tried to get the fans to cheer louder and then jumped inside of the ring. A flash of pain went through his arm. He hoped no one else noticed it.

Charles Robinson came over and inspected their wrists, boots, and tights before signaling for the bell. Punk went to his corner and looked at Cena.

"You want to start?" He asked.

Cena shrugged. "Go ahead." He said.

Punk walked to the center of the ring where Big Show greeted him. CM Punk knew he'd have to be faster then Show and had to stay away from his fists. One hit from the WMD and it would all be over.

Big Show tried to grab him but Punk ducked under and then ducked away a few more times from Big Show's attempt to grab him. He knew he had to take Big Show's legs out from under him and started kicking at his legs. He would be much more manageable if he was on the mat.

Show pushed him away hard and he fell back against the ropes and rolled back over and sprang to his feet. He started kicking at the Big Show's legs again and this time Big Show hit him hard in the arm. Punk had to back up a few steps as he grabbed onto his arm.

"Tag me!" Cena yelled from the corner.

Punk tagged him in and then stepped out of the ring. He tried to shake out the pain it his arm but that didn't seem to help. He watched as Cena also tried to take Big Show's legs out from under him and was able to kick him in the gut. When Big Show bent over in pain, Cena went for the clothesline and Big Show went down.

Cena tagged in Punk who started stomping on the Big Show and then tagged Cena in.

"Punk and Cena are working well as a team," Lawler said.

"For now," Cole conceded.

Big Show kicked Cena away and made the tag to Bryan who jumped into the ring and he and Cena exchanged punches. The match went back and forth for quite awhile before Big Show and Bryan got the advantage. Punk had been in the ring arguing with the ref about something and Big Show had capitalized on it by hitting Cena in the back of the head.

Cena went down and RAW went to a commercial break.

When they break was over, Bryan had Cena in an Indian Deathlock and Cena was trying to get to the ropes to get out of the hold. CM Punk stood in the corner watching the match itching to get in.

The match went another five minutes with Big Show and Bryan tagging back and forth wearing down Cena. It looked as if Big Show and Bryan would get the victory as Cena was being worn down.

The big break came at the ten-minute mark when Daniel Bryan missed a leg drop. Cena rolled over to his corner and tagged in a fresh CM Punk. CM Punk started punching both of his opponents. Big Show fell out of the ring so it left only Punk and Daniel in the ring. Punk signaled for the Go To Sleep and lifted Bryan up for the move. He was just about to execute the move when Bryan countered it knocked Punk to the mat. He locked in the No! Lock but John Cena made the save and kicked Bryan off of Punk.

Punk lay there on the mat in a lot of pain. Bryan may have only had the move locked on for a short time but it was enough to hurt.

Bryan and Cena started brawling so Charles Robinson tried to break those two up. Punk got up and turned in time to get hit with a fist. Everything went black.

Cena kicked Bryan away but couldn't make it to the ring to stop the three count. Big Show got up and raised a fist at Cena almost daring him to come into the ring. Cena stayed back knowing there was no reason to come in since he had lost. Or rather CM Punk had cost him the match.

Big Show stepped over the top rope and exited the ring. Charles Robinson raised his and Bryan's hand. The fans booed loudly.

Cena entered the ring and walked over to where Punk was beginning to stir.

Punk sat up holding his head where he had been hit with the WMD. He grimaced at the pain that caused. He looked up at the hand that Cena offered him. The look on Cena's face was unreadable and Punk decided not to accept the help up remember the AA he received the week before.

Punk turned and started to walk away from Cena.

Bam!

He was hit from behind and he fell to the mat. Cena grabbed him by the back of the neck and arm and tossed him out of the ring.

Punk was completely caught off guard but quickly started to fight back. Cena twisted his arm behind his back and threw him against the ring post. Punk hit the ground with a cry of pain.

Cena went to get a chair from next to the timekeeper and used it trap Punk's arm. He stomped down hard and Punk screamed out in pain.

At the top of the ramp, Big Show and Daniel Bryan were watching what was transpiring via the Titan Tron.

"What's he doing?" Bryan asked Big Show who looked as puzzled as he did.

Cena had Punk in a form of an arm breaker that no one thought he knew. Punk was screaming in pain.

"This is just wrong," Big Show said and walked down to ringside.

Punk struggled hard against Cena's grasp but he couldn't get loose. His arm felt like it was being pulled out of its socket.

"Come on man let go," Big Show said standing in front of Cena and tried to get Cena to let go but Cena wouldn't.

"Cena's not letting go King," Cole said from ringside.

"I know. Just listen to the screams."

Daniel Bryan felt sick watching it. He and Punk had been friends for years and to watch his former friend go through this was eating away at him. He pushed a fan out of the way and grabbed a chair. He ran down to ringside and hit Cena with it repeatedly until Cena let go.

They all looked down at Punk whose arm was in a strange angle.

Officials came running out to take Cena to the back. But everyone could see, it was far too late.


	4. Hospital Visit

Notes: A few curse words. "Get back! Get back!" The backstage physician, Joshua Hollis, yelled as he made his way to ringside. The show was over but they still needed to get Punk to the back. Daniel Bryan was still standing there along with Cole and Lawler. Big Show left not long after Cena did. The majority of the fans weren't leaving the building.

Punk was sitting up clutching his arm. His eyes were squeezed shut in obvious pain. The physician approached Punk and squatted down in front of him. He started to reach for Punk's arm but he pulled back.

"I need to look at the arm," he said carefully. He hadn't been with the WWE very long and hadn't encountered any major injuries thus far. His girlfriend had been right. The job wouldn't be boring.

Punk moved his hand away to let Joshua inspect the injury.

"You definitely need to go to the hospital," Joshua said as he carefully inspected the arm. "Can you walk?"

"Yeah," Punk said through gritted teeth. Lawler and Bryan moved in to give Punk a hand with standing up. The crowd started cheering as he walked to the back.

"I'm going to call an ambulance," Joshua said as he fumbled for his cellphone in his pocket.

"No ambulance!" Punk said.

"Punk I think your arm's broken," Joshua said, "an ambulance would be the fastest way to the hospital."

"I can drive."

"No actually you probably can't," the physician said.

"I'll take him," a voice said from behind them. They turned around to see Daniel Bryan. "Is that okay with you Phil?"

"Yeah," Punk said with a sigh. He hated hospitals but he knew there was something seriously wrong with his arm.

"I'll go get my car," he said and then hurried away.

"Get him out of here," Hunter's voice could be heard from down the hall. Punk opened his eyes wondering what Hunter was yelling about. He saw Cena standing not too far away from him.

"Cena get out of here before I fire your ass."

"I'm going," Cena said and walked past Punk. He stopped for a moment next to Punk.

"I mean it Cena back off," Hunter said.

Cena kept walking.

"Okay I have the car let's go," Daniel said coming up to him. "I parked it as close as I could. Now that Del Rio's car is gone, there was a big space in front." Daniel was trying to keep it light but he was worried because Punk wasn't saying anything. He knew he had to be in a lot of pain.

They both got into the car. "Damn I don't know where the closest hospital is. "He got out of the car and went to talk a local that was working security at the show that night who gave him directions to the nearest hospital.

It was a quiet ride but there was a lot of traffic leaving the hospital so it was a lot of stop and go traffic. "I bet if they knew you were in the car they'd move out of the way," Daniel grumbled.

"Why don't you get out and tell them," Punk said.

Daniel tried not to smile. At least Punk was still somewhat himself even in a lot of pain. They arrived at the hospital and Daniel turned the car off, got out, and went to open the car door for Punk but found Punk had already opened it.

They walked into the ER. The nurse took one look at both of them and asked, "What happened?"

Punk was in too much pain to deal with stupid questions. He painfully moved his arm closer, "what do you think happened?" He snapped.

"Oh," the nurse said. "We'll get you x-rayed as soon as possible. Here fill out these forms and we'll call you when we are ready."

Daniel took the forms from the nurse along with a clipboard and he sort of led Punk to a row of empty chairs. Punk was grimacing in pain as he sat down.

An older woman who was sitting across from them looked them up and down before saying, "didn't you have time to throw clothes on?"

"Yes," Punk snapped, "but everyone seemed to think the fact that my arm is bent in a funny way was a little more important."

"What's his excuse for being in here in his underwear?" Another person asked from the next row over. He was holding a towel to his nose.

"He's from Las Vegas. They dress like that all the time." Punk answered.

The woman moved to another seat.

Daniel filled out the paperwork as well as he could and asked Punk for the answers that he didn't know.

Two hours later they were called in to x-ray. Punk's mood hadn't improved one bit.

"Sir," a nurse said to Daniel, "while your friend is getting x-rayed, would you like to put some scrubs on?"

"Thanks," he said and followed her out of the room.

Punk had had more than his fair share of x-rays and knew the drill. It was quite painful as they removed the tape and cut off his elbow pad. They said they would need to take it off later if his arm was broken.

"Let me get you something for the pain while we await the x-rays," the nurse said as she led him into an exam room.

"No drugs," Punk said.

"Mr. Brooks you are in a lot of pain you will need this." The nurse said.

"No drugs. I will not take drugs."

"I'm sorry nurse," Daniel said coming into the room, "he doesn't take any kind of drugs. It's part of who he is. He's straight edge."

"Straight what?" She asked as she recapped the needle.

"Straight edge. It means I don't drink, I don't smoke, and I do not do drugs."

"It's your decision Mr. Brooks but I strongly suggest it. The doctor will be in shortly." She said and left.

"You know Phil if they need to set your arm that's going to hurt almost as much as what Cena did," Daniel said as he sat down in the chair next to him.

"Why are you here Bryan?" Punk asked. "We aren't friends. You could have dropped me off and left."

"We used to be friends," Daniel reminded him. "Until you stole AJ."

"You can have her back," Punk said, "can't believe she made me team with Cena."

"We can always set her back up with Kane," Daniel suggested smiling.

"Or Cena. He just divorced his wife," Punk said closing his eyes again. Man his arm hurt. He hoped the doctor would come soon.

"Hello Mr. Brooks," a doctor said coming into the room. "I'm Dr. Thomas and I have your x-rays." He put them up for examination. "As you can see the humorous bone is fractured. We'll need to set it and put it in a cast for 6 to 8 weeks. Nurse Cindy said you are refusing any kind of pain medication because of your beliefs. We can't force you to take any pain meds, but I would strongly suggest it."

"I understand but I don't want any."

"Okay well let's get started."


	5. Vince and Punk Part 1

CM Punk was lounging around in his apartment a couple of days later. His arm hurt and he was not in a good mood. Colt Cobana had stopped by earlier that afternoon bringing him snacks and watching the Cubs game with him. Now he was bored out of his mind.

Ring! Ring! His cellphone rang.

He picked it up, "hello?"

"Punk? This is Vince McMahon."

"Hey Vince what's up?" He asked.

"What's up?" Vince growled. "That's no way to talk to your boss."

"Sorry Vince. What's going on?"

"I spoke to the doctor you saw at the San Antonio Community Hospital. He has informed me that you have a broken arm and will be out for six to eight weeks."

So much for doctor patient confidentiality, Punk thought. "And you were calling to check up on me? Well I'm fine Vince. I might even be in Dallas Texas Monday."

"I'm glad to hear that," Vince said. "You can give me your belt while you're there. Saves me from having to send someone up to Chicago."

"What do you mean I can give you the belt while I'm there? Which belt do you want? I have several brown ones and even more black ones."

"You know what belt I'm talking about Punk. Your last title defense was on July 23rd. The soonest you'll be able to defend it is September 17th and 57 days from your last defense. You know that the champ has to defend the title every 30 days. I am calling to inform you that you have been stripped of your title."

"Wait you can't strip me of the title! I've been defending the title for over 260 days. Have you at least punished Cena? That was an unprovoked attacked Monday and you know it." He knew he probably sounded like he was whining but he was in pain and upset right now. He was sure he was also crossing the line and the call may very well end with him being fired.

"Cena has been fined. How much he was fined is none of your business and yes I can strip you of the title. I will send you the legal paperwork and I expect the belt in my hands before the show goes on the air Monday or you're fired." He hung up the phone.

CM Punk stared at the phone a moment and then hung it up. He planned to be in Dallas just not for the reason Vince wanted him to be there. He called the company's travel agent and made sure he had a first class ticket to Dallas. He didn't have the time for the bus so he would have to fly. He made note to leave extra early for the airport. He was sure he wouldn't make it through security with the cast and of course his title.

* * *

When CM Punk arrived at the arena he was stopped by security guards. His day had been really long. He had arrived at the airport early and as he had suspected, security at the airport were concerned about the cast and had been thoroughly searched. He had flown through Dallas on Spirit Airlines and had arrived in Dallas in the morning and didn't have a lot to do so he checked into the motel early and took a nap. Now he was well rested and ready for the show.

"Do you have the belt?" One of the security guards asked.

"Sure," Punk said moving the bag off of his shoulder and then started rummaging through it. "This is one of my nice belts." He said handing him a black belt.

"You know that's not the belt that Vince wants Punk," the second security guard said barely holding back a smile.

"He asked me for a belt but really didn't specify which one so here you go."

The first security guard sighed. He took out a phone and dialed a number. "Mr. Punk's here but won't hand over the belt."

"Sorry Punk," the second security guard said.

Punk shrugged. "Not your fault."

They stood around for a few minutes before Vince McMahon appeared. "Where's the title Punk?"

"You asked for a belt not my title," Punk said with a smirk. "I gave the belt to them." He said indicating the black belt that was on the ground.

"Punk give me the title right now or you're fired." Vince threatened.

Punk decided to stand his ground. "No."

"Then you're fired!"


	6. One Crazy Day

Punk stared at Vince in shock. Was he serious? "You can't fire me!"

"I can and just did. I might change my mind right now if you hand over the title."

Punk stared at him for a long moment and then walked away. Great he had a title but no job. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. But then a new idea came to him. He waited until Vince was out of sight and then walked up to the box office.

"One ticket for RAW."

"Anywhere in particular?" The woman asked without even looking up.

"As close to the ring as I can get."

"Ringside is pretty much sold out," she said, "but I can get you a seat on the second level. Good view of the ring." She then looked up from her computer. "Wait why do you need a ticket? Is it for a family member? I thought you guys got comp tickets."

"Yeah well not tonight." Punk said with a sigh. "I'll take it." He handed her a credit card and then backed away from the box office.

"Excuse me CM Punk," a voice said from somewhere behind him. He turned around to see a middle aged man standing there.

"Yes?" Punk asked though he really wasn't in the mood for signing autographs right now.

"I hear you are looking for ringside ticket for tonight's show. I happen to have an extra ticket that I was going to see if I could get my money back on. I'd be willing to give it to you for a picture and an autograph."

Punk smiled. He suddenly didn't mind signing autographs. "Where's the seat?" He asked hoping it was near the ring.

"First row. It's on the same side as the cameras," the man said, "You won't be on camera but…"

"I'll be facing the wrestlers." Punk's smile grew wider. "What would you like me to sign?"

* * *

John Cena couldn't have been happier. He had heard the news about Punk being fired as soon as he arrived in the building. He had finally ridden the WWE of the biggest thorn in his side. If he knew breaking Punk's arm would get him fired he'd have done it a long time ago. He was tired of playing second fiddle to Punk and now he wouldn't have to.

He waited until they started playing My Time is Now before walking to ringside. His music never seemed more appropriate until now. The fans were booing. He frowned. He wouldn't hear any cheers. A cup flew out and hit him in the back. He spun around wondering who had done it but could see that security was already handling it.

He kept walking ignoring the fans as he always did. He got into the ring and there was a loud Cena Sucks chant already starting. No Let's Go Cena chant. The chant died down long enough for a We Want Punk chant to start. He walked over to the side of the ring and reached his hand out for a mic. A mic was given to him. He took it and started pacing.

He kept looking to the entrance expecting someone to come out and given him the title. It was only fair that he could get it from forfeiture. He was the one who was supposed to have a title match at Summerslam. He stopped pacing realizing no one was going to come out. He turned to face the camera. "CM Punk..."

"Yes?" A voice said from somewhere near him.

He spun around. He must have been hearing things because that voice sounded like CM Punk. It couldn't be. It had to be some smart aleck fan but he wasn't sure so he continued. "CM Punk..."

"Yes?"

Then that's when he saw him. Sitting right in front of him in the front row was a barely disguised CM Punk.

"What are you doing here?" Cena demanded. "You were fired!"

Cena was not one bit happy when he saw someone hurry over and hand CM Punk a mic. "You can't just give some mark a mic."

"Mark," CM Punk asked with a chuckle. "My name's not mark or did you forget me already John? I'm just here to enjoy the show just like everyone else in Dallas."

Cena's face went red. "It doesn't matter anyway," John continued. "You don't work here anymore Punk. I am going to be the champion while you are sitting at home wishing you were in the WWE. I doubt even your little friends in Ring of Honor want you back. How is Cobana anyway?"

In the back Vince was fuming. "Cut their mics. Cut both of their mics!" He didn't need people mentioning ROH. It was bad enough that Punk mentioned it twice on TV.

"Are you sure Mr. McMahon?" Someone in the production truck asked.

"Yes I'm serious. Cut their mics or you are fired!"

"I…" CM Punk stopped as he noticed his mic was cut.

"See…" Cena stopped also when he noticed his mic was cut off. He threw the mic outside of the ring. He had wanted to throw it at Punk but was worried he'd hit a fan.

He got out of the ring and walked up to Punk who was looking at him with a smirk on your face.

"You think this is funny Punk?" Cena asked getting in his face.

"Yeah I do. The golden boy has fallen from the pedestal that WWE has had him on. I'm just glad I was here to see it."

Cena threw a punch that hit CM Punk in the face. Punk was momentarily caught off guard but then he dove at Cena sending himself over the guardrail. He tried to brace himself so he didn't land on his broken arm. He landed on top of Cena who pushed him off.

They both scrambled to their feet and Cena started to grab at Punk but Punk was ready and kicked him away.

Security quickly got between them and separated them. "You are both under arrest." A cop said coming up to them.

"Are you serious?" Cena asked.

"You are under arrest for attacking a fan and he's under arrest for attacking a wrestler."

Punk rubbed at his left arm but couldn't help but laugh. This was a crazy day.


	7. The Night Gets Stranger

Triple H went backstage after the contract signing. He had almost missed the contract signing due to a late flight. Tonight wasn't his night. He looked around and something just didn't look right but he couldn't put his finger on it. Most everyone was backstage waiting for the end of the show. He now knew what was wrong.

He grabbed Jericho by the arm. "Where's Punk?"

Jericho stared at him in surprise. "Vince fired him."

"He did what?!"

"Punk wouldn't hand him the belt so Vince fired him. Oh and he and Cena are in jail."

Triple H stared at him trying to make sense of what Jericho was saying. "Are you shitting me?"

"I was there when Vince announced it tonight. You didn't hear? No wait you were late. Figures that you are allowed to be late."

"Jericho," Hunter warned. He didn't have the patience for this.

"So Cena went ballistic when he saw Punk in the audience and attacked him. Vince had them both arrested."

"Hunter I'm leaving," Shawn said as he walked past Hunter with his suitcase.

"Wait Shawn I need to talk to you. Let me figure out what's going on with Punk and then we can sit down."

"I'm done. You can call me or whatever." Shawn said and kept walking.

Hunter knew better to follow Shawn when he was in this kind of mood. He'd call Shawn later. He went up to Vince who was standing in the back talking to one of the Road Agents.

"Could I have a word with you Vince," Hunter said.

"Just a minute."

"I need to have a word with you now."

Vince heaved a sigh and then followed Hunter to a quiet part of the arena. "What is it?"

"Did you fire CM Punk?" He demanded.

"Yes. He wouldn't hand over the title so he left me with no choice but to fire him. We'll have a title match at Summerslam between Big Show and somebody else. It sure isn't going to be John Cena!"

"And where is the belt now?" Hunter asked still having trouble following what his father-in-law was telling him.

"Punk still has it."

Hunter barely held back his smile. When was Vince going to learn not to let Punk leave with the title?

"Hunter!" A voice yelled.

Hunter turned around. "What is it?"

"Lesnar attacked Shawn in the parking lot!"

All thoughts of Punk left his mind as he hurried over to the parking lot.

* * *

CM Punk sat on a bunk in a holding cell in Dallas. His arm was hurting and he was tired but didn't want to close his eyes because he didn't trust who was in the cell with him even if Cena was in the cell next to him. He looked at his right wrist out of habit before remembering he didn't wear a watch. He was sure he had been in this cell for a couple of hours.

"Brooks!" A cop called from outside of the cell. "You've made bail." He said as he unlocked the cell.

"What about me," John asked.

"No sorry Cena. They are only here to bail Brooks out."

Punk flashed Cena a grin as he walked past his cell.

"Who posted my bail?" He asked.

"Her name is Stephanie McMahon-Levesque."

"Are you sure she meant me?"

"Yes Punk," a familiar voice said from another room. "I have posted your bail. Of course it's going to come out of your pay."

"Of course it is."

Today just kept getting stranger.


	8. New Contract

CM Punk hit pause on his TV remote after hearing the doorbell. He hated being interrupted when he was watching Walking Dead. He really hoped it wasn't one of his sisters there to cheer him up. He wasn't sure how much more of that he could take.

The doorbell rang again.

"I'm coming!" Punk yelled as he walked to the door. He looked through the peephole and sighed. Things just kept getting stranger and stranger. "I changed my mind. I'm not home."

"Too bad because I was here to talk to you about your job." Hunter said from the other side of the door.

Punk started to unlock the locks and opened the door. He moved away from the door and over to his couch.

"Nicer then the MMA interview I saw," Hunter said.

"Yeah my sisters idea of cheering me up is cleaning. Have a seat Hunter." He said indicating one of the chairs. He hit stop and turned his TV off.

"Let's cut to the chase," Hunter said, "I don't like you and you don't like me."

"Glad we got that out of the way but did you really have to fly all this way to tell me that? I appreciate you bailing me out of jail but you could have said that over the phone."

Hunter opened up the briefcase that he had brought with him. "I was looking at your contract that you signed last year."

"Did you find a way to make those ice cream bars?"

Hunter smirked. "I'm afraid Good Humor is still saying no. No I was looking at the clause that said that you are allowed a certain amount of personal days but it also says that if you suffer an injury you will be required to attend shows. And I noticed you missed a house show."

"Yeah I think that contract became null and void when I got fired."

"Oh didn't we call you to tell you that you are rehired? I should probably fire the person in charge of Talent Relations for forgetting that."

"Yeah the day you fire yourself is the day that John Cena learns a new move. I'm really looking forward to one of those happening."

"I bet you are. I see that the broken arm hasn't changed your personality."

"I'm the cult of personality," Punk said with a shrug. "I've got a lot of personality."

"So I see. I've noticed RAW is lacking in someone with your quick wit."

"Michael Cole's just not cutting it huh?"

"Not really. And between you and me, I'd like to see Cena squirm when he sees you at ringside."

"I thought you McMahons were all Cena fans. What's with the change of heart?"

"First of all I'm not a McMahon, I am married to one. Second, John Cena has gone too far this time. I'm sure you have heard that Daniel Bryan will be facing Big Show at Summerslam."

"Yeah I read Bryan's tweet. Can't say I actually watched Smackdown where AJ came out and announced it. I'll probably look it up on youtube or something later."

"Cena already is talking about getting a lawyer. He said he's being unfairly treated. We've already dropped the charges against both of you but he heard I was the one who had you bailed out of jail and he thinks there's some conspiracy theory going on. That was enough for Vince to put an end to Cena's claim for a title match. AJ didn't come up with the match. She was told to announce it."

"Yeah I couldn't see AJ doing anything to help Bryan," Punk agreed. "So what does this have to do with me?"

"Nothing. I just thought I'd bring you up to speed on what's going on. Here," he said handing him the piece of paper he had pulled out of his briefcase. "See if this meets your approval."

"I already know my contract Hunter. I…" he trailed off as he looked down at the paper. "This isn't my contract," a grin started forming on his face. "This is an open contract to face whoever is the champ for when I'm cleared to wrestle. I like this contract. Got a pen?"

"Actually I do," he said handing him a pen. "There is one condition though. You have to do commentary for RAW and Smackdown. We might as well capitalize on your gift of gab."

"Can I say what I want?"

"As long as we don't have to beep you out. I might even get you a blazer."

Punk just grinned and signed the contract.


	9. Summerslam

Notes: Congratulations to the champ! We all knew he could do it! As for my story, I'm not sure how Night of Champions will play out. I won't spoil it but it will not look like that. Like the new summary? I realized awhile ago that it doesn't fit the story.

"If you don't have enemies, you don't have character."

Paul Newman

CM Punk entered the Staples Center two days after his meeting with Triple H. After having the title for as long as he had, it felt weird to enter an arena without the belt. He had handed Hunter back the title after some reluctance. Hunter had to remind him that he would get a title shot as soon as he was cleared.

"Punk!" A voice called from the entrance.

He turned to see Kofi Kingston standing there with R-Truth.

"What are you doing here," Kofi asked. "I thought you were fired."

"I've been rehired," Punk said with a grin. "I thought this would be as good place as any to return."

"Lil Jimmy's glad to see you," R-Truth said. "He didn't like hearing Cena gloating about running you out of the company."

"Tell Lil Jimmy I appreciate that."

Punk saw that Daniel Bryan had just arrived at the arena. "I'll talk to you guys later." He said and then took off.

"Bryan can I talk to you for a second," Punk asked coming up to him.

Bryan's face showed the surprise that was present on many people's faces backstage. "Sure," he said and then they walked to a quieter part of the arena.

"I just wanted to wish you luck in your match tonight," Punk said. "Big Show's going to be a tough opponent."

"I've beaten him before Bryan said with a smile.

Punk nodded. "I thought I'd better warn you that Cena's going to be pissed."

"Yeah I know. I thought he was going to explode when he found out he wasn't in the title match tonight. Did you see Smackdown?" Punk shook his head. "He started to rant about how there's a conspiracy in the company against him. He even said the strangest thing about how Stephanie McMahon bailed you out of jail and left him there."

"I know strange isn't it?"

"You mean it's true?" Bryan said with a smile. "I thought she hated you."

"Oh she does. She said her husband asked her to bail me out because he had to take Shawn to the hospital. She did say it was coming out of my pay but I'm not complaining and she got her money back."

"So are you going to hang out backstage? Maybe you can give me advice on my match."

"I'm going to be busy tonight," Punk said. "I'm…" he trailed off as he saw a production aid walk over to where they were standing.

"Helmsly wanted me to give you this," he said handing him a garment bag.

"Thanks," Punk said and then watched him walk away.

"Hunter wanted you to have that?" Bryan said slightly confused. "What is it?"

Punk opened up the bag and a huge grin formed on his face. "A blazer. I'm doing commentary."

"They trust you with a headset?"

"And said I could say anything I wanted as long as I didn't get beeped out. Scary isn't it?"

"I feel like I've entered bizzaro world."

"Well it is California."

* * *

Later that night Punk sat at the commentary table watching the opening match which featured John Cena vs. Kane. He found himself rooting for Kane even though he had been feuding with Kane just the previous month. He was more then a little pleased when Kane pinned Cena after a choke slam.

"I suppose you are happy Punk," Michael Cole said turning to look at the newest RAW commentator. He had been angry when he heard CM Punk's music hit at the beginning of the show. Punk was supposed to be fired after all.

"Who me?" Punk asked trying to fake innocence but he had a large smile on his face. He had found it difficult to be impartial during the match and he couldn't hide his feelings now.

"I think Cena's hurt," Lawler said ignoring both of them. "He's slow to get up. Kane's headed to the back."

"That's just to bad," Punk agreed sarcastically. "I know what it's like to have trouble getting up."

Cena got up and looked around the Staples Center there were a couple of people applauding him but he was most definitely being booed. He turned towards the commentary table and where between Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler sat CM Punk in a blue blazer looking as if he belonged there. Cena walked over to the commentary table after grabbing a mic from Frank at ringside.

"What are you doing here Punk?" Cena asked.

"Commentating," Punk said with his usual smirk. "Looks like you are losing."

"You're the reason I'm not in the title match! You talked to AJ to get the title match changed to Bryan vs. Big Show. Everyone knows you are friends with Bryan! I even saw you two talking tonight."

"I had nothing to do with that Cena," Punk said standing up. "You think WWE consulted me and asked me who I wanted to see wrestle for my title?" Punk just laughed. "Yeah Bryan's one of my friends but that doesn't mean I'm the reason he's in the title match. You want to know why you aren't in the title match?" He pointed at his arm, which was in a sling. "You broke my arm Cena and then attacked me. Though I think what made Vince mad was when you mentioned Ring of Honor and Colt Cabana. You'd have to ask him."

Cena turned away and then quickly made a move to hit Punk. Lawler anticipated it and pushed Cena away before he even got close to Punk. Cena stared at Lawler in shock. Lawler had always been his biggest supporter on commentary.

"I think you should get out of here Cena," Lawler said staring Cena down.

Cena turned away and walked back up the ramp.

"Thanks," Punk said staring at Lawler in shock.

"Don't mention it." Lawler said and sat back down.

Punk sat down also. The show continued. The audience at the Staples Center started whispering wondering what Punk had said to rile Cena. Punk hadn't had a mic and they could only hear Cena.

* * *

"He's tapping!" Punk yelled. "He's tapping!" He was on his feet. If anyone had to win his title, he was glad it was Bryan. All thoughts of what Cena had said earlier left his mind.

The fans were on their feet screaming and applauding as Bryan held the title high above his head. He had a large smile on his face. He pointed at Punk who was giving him a thumbs up unable to applaud.

"Do you mean we'll have to deal with this every week?" Cole said to Lawler after putting himself on mute.

"Looks like it."

A new era of commentary had started.


	10. New Pipe Bomb

RAW opened the next night with a shot of the three commentators.

"No need to adjust your TV set," Punk said with a smile, "I am not fired and yes they were crazy enough to ask me to do commentary."

"Triple H has obviously lost his mind," Michael Cole said from Punk's left.

"Ah come on Cole. Admit it. You missed me doing commentary. I made things entertaining. Let the party get started."

Suddenly My Time is Now started playing.

"And here comes the party pooper," Punk said subconsciously adjusting his arm sling. He had to be ready for Cena. He was sure Cena was still mad about losing to Kane and being removed from the title match.

John Cena walked around the ring and over to where Frank sat. He grabbed a mic but instead of going into the ring he approached the commentators table. Punk picked up the mic that was lying in front of him. He had come prepared. He knew that Cena would get in his face again that evening and knew the fans should know what he was saying.

"Punk," Cena said as he stood in front of the commentary booth.

"Cena." Punk responded not missing a beat.

"I don't know how you managed to get your job back or how you got your friend into my title match but I'm going to find out."

"My friend? Are you talking about the new WWE champion, spoiler alert, Daniel Bryan? I had nothing to do with making the matches. Despite what I've said before, that's not a hat I wear."

"Yes but you're suddenly Triple H's friend."

"I'm not Triple H's friend. He offered me my job back and I'm not stupid. Of course I'm going to take the job."

"A year ago you were telling the fans how much you hated working here and that you were leaving. You held up the company just so you could get your damn ice cream bars."

"Which I've never gotten by the way," Punk said.

There was a We Want Ice Cream chant.

"We are still working on it," Punk promised the fans before turning his attention back to Cena. "But as I've mentioned before. I love the company I just hate who's in charge. Everyone knows I have my problems with AJ and Hunter and I will never be buddies and that's more then fine with me."

Let's Light it Up started playing.

"Speaking of which," Punk said with a frown. He and AJ hadn't spoken since Cena broke his arm and couldn't imagine what she had to say right now.

AJ came skipping to ringside. She took the mic from CM Punk and turned towards Cena. "CM Punk had nothing to do with you being removed from the title match at Summerslam. I was the one who changed the card."

Punk had to cover his mouth so no one could see him laughing.

"I do think it's only fair that you should get the first title shot against Daniel Bryan and I'm making it for tonight."

She handed the mic back to CM Punk and skipped away without another word.

John Cena dropped the mic on the commentator's desk and left obviously getting what he wanted.

"What a way to start RAW," Lawler said.

Punk just shook his head. Something told him things were just getting started and it wasn't the show.

* * *

At the start of the second hour, CM Punk made his way into the ring with microphone in hand. The fans started cheering anticipating what Punk would say.

"As I mentioned earlier," Punk said as he stepped into the middle of the ring, "there is a new WWE champion and his name is Daniel Bryan. John Cena's right. Bryan and I go way back. We wrestled in the same independent company. Some of you may be familiar with that company."

An ROH chant started to break out.

"They said it, I didn't," Punk said into the camera. "We've been friends for years. Right now I'd like to have the new WWE Champion come out to the ring.

John Cena's music hit.

"John I think you're confused," Punk said trying to speak over the music. "I asked for the new WWE Champion to come out not John Cena who thinks he should be the WWE Champion."

John Cena entered the ring, mic in hand. He waited until the music stopped. "I wish I had broken your jaw," Cena said to Punk without a mic so no one else could hear him. He then put the mic in front of his mouth. "CM Punk, like always, is taking over the show. You aren't champ anymore Punk so that doesn't mean the show revolves around you," he grinned, "not that it ever did."

He took a step forward and let Punk see what he had in his hand. "I'm going to make sure it will never be your show."

* * *

In the back Hunter Hearst Helmsley had just arrived and looked at the monitors in shock. "Where's Bryan?" He asked one of the sound technicians.

"We don't know. We went to cue up his music and Cena ordered us to play his music."

"Someone find out what happened to Bryan. I'm going out there."

"Wait Hunter," AJ called as she hurried over to him. "I'm sure Punk will be fine. Let me go out there and fix this."

"AJ I don't know if you saw it, but Cena's got a lead pipe and I don't think even you can stop that."

"You want your music on?" One of the sound technicians asked.

"No I'll go out without music." Hunter pushed through the curtain.

In the ring Cena and Punk were oblivious to what was happening at the entrance. Punk looked from the pipe to Cena who had a very serious look on his face. The fans were booing loudly.

"I think I'll start with your jaw," Cena said and took a swing at Punk. Punk was ready for him and kicked him in the stomach. Cena clutched at his stomach but did not drop the pipe.

"Enough!" Hunter yelled as he entered the ring. "Cena your title match tonight will not be taking place. You are suspended. I expect security to remove you from the building."

Cena took a swing at the former COO and Hunter caught his fist and then grabbed him by the other arm and hit a Pedigree.

Punk watched in surprise. This was not going the way he thought it would.

"Security," Hunter yelled, "please escort Mr. Cena from the building."

A couple of security guards came into the ring and dragged Cena from the ring. Hunter followed them out and Punk went back to the commentary table still surprised by what had happened.

"Fans," Michael Cole said as soon as Punk had his headset on, "it appears that Daniel Bryan was attacked backstage and was found unconscious in his dressing room."

Punk shook his head. He knew who had done it. He wondered what was going on with Cena.


	11. Storm Brewing

CM Punk headed backstage after RAW went off the air. He wanted to change into jeans and a t-shirt before leaving for the night. He was surprised they let him do commentary in his sweat pants, t-shirt, and blazer but he supposed they knew that was his style.

"Hey Punk," a voice called to him as he went into a locker room. He turned around to see Triple H standing behind him.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"I want to take you and Daniel Bryan out for a drink," he smirked when he saw the look of protest on Punk's face, "I know you don't drink you can have a Pepsi or something. Stephanie and I want to talk to you two about a few things. Meet us by the entrance." Hunter said before walking away.

Punk turned to Kofi who was standing next to him. "Did that just happen?"

"I don't know man. Should we question his competency again?"

Punk just grinned and headed inside of the locker room. He changed into the clothes he had worn to the arena. He was starting to adapt to having the use of one arm. As he was leaving the locker room, he found Bryan standing there waiting for him. "Did you talk to Hunter?"

"Yeah I was just waiting for you. I hope Cena doesn't find out. He is seriously losing it just thinking that you and Hunter are friends. He'll freak out if he knew that…"

Punk held up a hand and said, "Yeah we can talk about that later." He said as he looked over to where Randy Orton was standing. He knew that Cena and Orton were best friends and Randy would tell him. "Let's get going."

They walked to the entrance where Hunter and Stephanie were waiting. "You guys ready?" He asked. "Stephanie and I thought we'd go to Casey's Bar and Grill. We heard it was a good bar. That way we can eat too. Follow us out of the arena."

Bryan and Punk got into Bryan's rental car as Punk had ridden to the arena with Kofi and R-Truth. They listened to music on the way to the bar but other then that it was a quiet ride. They walked into the bar and up to Stephanie and Hunter who were talking to one of the servers.

"Sorry Bryan it looks like this place doesn't serve vegan food."

"That's okay," Bryan said, "I filled up at catering tonight."

They walked over to a table and sat down. Punk was glad to see they were at a table in a quiet part of the building.

"I know you two have had a rough couple of weeks," Hunter started after they gave the server their order. "We are trying to find a way to correct what's been going on. I'm not sure how yet but we will find a way. Cena's suspension is just the start. To be honest I've been looking for a way to punish Cena and his threatening you Punk was the way."

"While I appreciate that Hunter, I doubt that will fix any problems. Cena's just going to come back angrier."

"Maybe you could put him in one of those anger management groups that AJ was trying to get me to go to," Bryan said with a laugh. "If there was anyone who needed anger management it's him."

"That's an idea," Stephanie said, "and maybe we can enroll my dad in it too."

They all chuckled.

"What I don't understand is why Cena snapped," Hunter said. "He's always been a good guy. Always wanting to please the fans."

"I think the fans finally got to him," Punk said as he took the Pepsi that the server offered him. "The fans haven't been behind Cena for a couple of years now. He always ignored them saying he doesn't care. The night he broke my arm he said he was tired of me being cheered saying that the fans only liked anti heroes."

"Why isn't he just happy with putting you on the shelf," Stephanie asked.

"John and I have had an unusual friendship after I came back from my vacation. I'd never call him a good friend but we got along backstage well until now. You two miss the house shows so you don't see how we goof off uh I mean how we entertain the fans. It was a friendly rivalry. Now he seems bothered by the fact that the fans are behind me. I don't get it either though."

They were quiet for a few moments while Hunter and Stephanie dug into their food. Punk was distracted by something at the entrance of the bar.

"Cena's here," Punk said with a groan.

"Don't worry," Hunter said, "I told the server that if Cena did come in to the bar to not sit him anywhere near us. So we'll be fine for now."

"I had a question," Punk said quickly changing the subject. "Am I needed for the Australian tour?"

"Not unless you want to be there," Hunter said. "We won't be having any tapings that weekend but you'll be needed in Chicago on the 3rd. I assume you can make it to that one." Hunter said taking a sip of his beer.

"I'll try. Besides it'll give me time to work on the DVD some more. We are just covering up until Money in the Bank 2011 but they want to ask me a few more questions for the documentary portion."

"When does the DVD come out again?" Stephanie asked.

"October 9th," Punk said not surprised that Stephanie didn't know that. "The DVD is pretty much finished though."

There was a loud noise from the front of the bar. Hunter looked around and saw what it was. "Stay here," he said getting up. He walked over to where Cena and Orton were having a loud discussion with one of the servers.

"What's going on here?" Hunter asked coming up to them.

"I told you they were here," Orton said to Cena. "We wanted to come talk to you but the server kept saying you weren't here."

"It seems she was mistaken," Hunter said making a mental note to leave the server a nice tip for her trouble. "Let's go outside and we can talk about it."

He went outside with Orton and Cena following.

"So where's Punk?" Cena asked.

"How should I know?" Hunter asked. "Stephanie and I are here enjoying a meal after the show. You know as well as I do that Punk doesn't go to bars."

"A fan said they saw you enter with him, Bryan, and Stephanie," Orton said. "He tweeted it."

"They must have been mistaken," Hunter lied. He wanted to defuse the situation as much as possible. "Now what did you want to talk to me about."

"I want to know why you suspended me," Cena said.

"I suspended you because you threatened another wrestler with a pipe. I warned you before to leave Punk alone. It also seems that you knocked Bryan out."

"How long am I suspended for?"

"I don't know yet. I'll get back to you."

"I'm going to fight this," Cena said, "you won't win Hunter."

"That's Mr. Helmsley to you," Hunter said. "Go ahead and fight me on it. I don't care. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to dinner."

As he walked towards the entrance he heard Cena say, "he'll fix this. He said he has a plan."

Hunter stopped, wondering whom Cena was talking about but knew he wouldn't get an answer so he went back into the building.

* * *

Notes: Next chapter the s- hits the fan in a major way and you'll find out who _he_ is. Let's just say next chapter is the Chicago RAW and it's not going to be pretty.


	12. Chicago RAW

Notes: I'm actually excited about this chapter. I wrote it a few weeks ago and I kept a lot of the stuff from the RAW. I just gave it my own tweak. Quote from the beginning of this chapter is one of the songs they used at ROH's Final Chapter. I don't know it just seemed appropriate…

_This is what I brought you, this you can keep_

_This is what I brought, you may forget me_

_I promise to depart, just promise one thing_

_Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep_

_Prelude 12/21 by AFI_

Two weeks later RAW was in Chicago. CM Punk was excited about the show being in his hometown. He always got a good reaction from the fans. They knew where he was from and knew he was proud. He had also talked Colt Cabana into going to the show. His mother was out of town and couldn't make it but his youngest sister Shalene and his brother Charlie were going to be there.

He was pulling his commentator's jacket on when he heard someone walking up to him. He turned around to see AJ standing there looking at him nervously.

"Did you talk to Hunter yet?" She asked.

"I just got here and haven't seen him. Why?"

"Cena's suspension is over tonight. He's already in his locker room changing. I thought you should know before you run into him."

Two-week suspension. CM Punk thought shaking his head. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised. It was surprising that Cena had been suspended that long at all but he supposed Cena was running out of supporters in the front office.

"Thanks for the heads up."

"Oh," she said turning around, "they have left time at the beginning of the show for you to talk. It is your hometown and all."

"Yeah," Punk said frowning. He wondered why AJ seemed so nervous. Was it because Cena was back? "You okay? I mean more okay then usual?"

"Yeah fine," she said with a smile. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You just seem nervous," Punk said.

"Yeah well I guess I'm worried about you and Cena getting in a fight," she said.

"Don't worry. I've got a secret weapon in the front row." Punk said with a wink.

"Punk?" Lawler called, "we need to go out to ringside."

"I'll see you later AJ," Punk said and then walked to the Gorilla Position. Michael Cole went out first and then Jerry Lawler. One of the sound technicians handed him a mic. "Justin Roberts will announce you."

Punk rolled his good shoulder and waited for his cue to go out to the ring.

"Please welcome Chicago's own, CM Punk!" Justin Roberts yelled.

The building was deafening as Cult of Personality started playing. He walked through the curtain and out to the ring. He slapped hands with the fans as he walked by. He grinned at Frank the Clown as he walked by. Frank was never hard to miss at shows.

He hugged his sister and slapped hands with Mike and Colt before entering the ring. He waited until the cheers died down before he said, "how is everyone doing tonight?"

The response he received was just as loud as when his music hit. There was a Welcome Home chant before another chant of CM Punk started.

He soaked in the cheers. It felt just like it did when he was at Money in the Bank last year. Part of him wished he could go back to last year but he wouldn't change what had happened since then for anything in the world.

"I love coming back to Chicago," he said when the fans quieted down a bit. "There is nothing like Chicago fans. I grew up in Chicago and I still live here. I spent a lot of my early days in this business wrestling in Chicago and the Twin Cities. I've had some of my favorite matches in this building and in Chicago Ridge."

There was an ROH chant and he smiled. The fans remembered.

"I'm just sorry I can't wrestle in front of you tonight. But I guarantee you the next time RAW's in Chicago, I'll be wrestling."

He hadn't planned to say anything and at the moment he just wanted to thank the fans for being there. He didn't want to ruin it by talking about Cena. He'd have plenty of time to talk about Cena later. "Thank you." He said and stepped out of the ring. The fans cheered even louder. He smiled and took his seat between Lawler and Cole.

"Fans," Michael Cole, "we have just been given word that the main event tonight will be Alberto Del Rio vs. John Cena in a Falls Count Anywhere match. If Cena wins, he will receive a title shot against Daniel Bryan at Night of Champions. If Del Rio wins, he will receive a title shot against Sheamus at Night of Champions. Should be an exciting match.

Punk frowned. He wondered whose idea that was. He was sure it wasn't Hunter's. Or at least he didn't think it was.

* * *

"This action is going everywhere in the arena." Punk said excitedly as he watched Cena and Del Rio brawl all over the arena. It had been a quiet night and he hadn't had one single confrontation with Cena. Actually Cena hadn't come out at all and only did an interview backstage talking about facing Bryan at Night of Champions. It seemed odd to Punk given how Cena had been acting lately but he figured maybe Cena was just satisfied with the chance of getting a title shot at Night of Champions.

Punk was really enjoying doing commentary during this match. He might not have liked Del Rio and Cena. It had been everything everyone expected it to be. An all out brawl and he enjoyed those even more when he wasn't in them.

"Cena just threw a garbage can at Del Rio!" Lawler said.

"Its trash everywhere just like the one who threw it. I…" he stopped when he heard his cellphone going off. He looked down. Everyone knew not to contact him during a show unless it was an emergency.

He had a text.

_Punk come to the back if you want to know why Cena attacked you._

Punk was about to close his phone when he got another one.

_I'll be leaving when the match is over and I won't be contacting you again._

Punk bit his lip thinking about it. It would probably be really stupid if he went to the back but he was curious. Who had sent him the text message? He wondered. He didn't recognize the phone number. Well he wasn't afraid of anything. He took his headset off.

"Where are you going?" Cole yelled as Punk got up.

Punk walked away.

He walked to the back and looked around wondering who he was supposed to be looking for. No one was looking his way as they were watching the match take place in the back.

His phone beeped again.

_I'm out near the entrance. They won't let me in._

"Punk?" Sheamus called. "What are you doing back here fella?"

"Don't have time to talk Sheamus," he said and walked away.

He walked to the back and looked around. He hit reply.

_Where are you?_ He texted.

He heard squealing tires and then something hit him hard. He flew over the hood and then landed with a painful thud.

Everything went black.

In the arena the video cut away from the match to show Punk lying on the ground in front of a car. The car window rolled down long enough for them to see Paul Heyman looking out.

* * *

Notes: I hope the chapter lived up to what I said it would. Thanks for the reviews guys.


	13. Pandemonium

Notes: Anyone know if Mike is older or younger then Punk? I guess I can wait until I see the DVD next month (already have mine pre-ordered!) but I was wondering if anyone knew for sure.

* * *

Backstage was pandemonium after footage rolled of Punk getting hit by the car. The match was still going on and it was making it difficult to get Joshua to the entrance of the arena.

"What are we going to do?" AJ asked Hunter.

"I don't know," he said still not believing what had happened. When did Punk leave ringside? Why didn't anyone say anything? Where had Punk been going? "Find Bryan. I don't care what you think of him but he's Punk's friend. Did anyone call 911?" he yelled.

"Yeah," someone answered.

"Excuse me Hunter," a nervous sounding voice said from behind him.

"What?" He asked turning around to see a security guard standing there.

"There's a Scott Colton wanting to get backstage. I told him no one was allowed backstage without a backstage pass but he's very insistent."

"I know that name. Colton…Colton…" then it dawned on him. Colt Cabana. "Let him through right now and find out if Punk's sisters or parents are here. If they are bring them back here too."

He turned to Road Dog who was standing backstage. "Is the match over yet?"

"I don't know," he answered. "I don't think anyone's been watching the monitors."

"You know it was Cena." He muttered more to himself.

"I don't know why you are getting so worked up Hunter," Road Dog said.

"A guy gets hit by a car and you don't know why I'm so worked up about it?" Hunter yelled. "Maybe someone should have noticed there was a car in the arena that Del Rio didn't drive!"

Road Dog backed away.

Hunter didn't have time to apologize to his friend as he noticed Cena walking through the back. The match was obviously over. He grabbed him by the arm. "Did you have Heyman hit Punk with a car?"

"What?!" Cena asked. "Punk was hit by a car? When?"

"During your match," Hunter said.

"I had nothing to do with it. I was wrestling. Where is he?"

"Hopefully on his way to the hospital." Hunter said and pushed past Cena. He wasn't sure he believed Cena but he didn't want to talk to him anymore.

He finally made his way to the entrance to the arena and found the EMTs just loading back into the ambulance. Punk was unconscious and Hunter didn't want to look at the blood on the ground. He saw Colt standing there watching.

Hunter pulled out one of his business cards and handed it to Colt. "Call me when you hear anything."

Colt nodded and started to turn away but stopped. "His brother and sister are at ringside." He said

"I told security to bring them backstage. I thought might be after I heard you were here."

"Scott!" A voice yelled. They turned around to see a young dark haired woman followed by another man who was maybe a little older then Punk. Hunter really couldn't tell. He had seen the woman at several shows so he knew it must be Punk's sister. "How's Phil?"

"They are about to take him to the hospital," Colt said. He turned to one of the EMTs. "This is his brother and sister. Could they ride with him?"

The EMT looked uncertain for a moment and looked at his partner who nodded. "All right get in. We need to get him out of here."

Colt watched as the ambulance drove away before turning to Hunter. "Where's Cena?"

"I think he went to change. Look Cabana I know you are mad so am I but we have no proof that Cena had anything to do with it."

"You've got to be kidding Hunter! This completely smells of Cena. I want a piece of him so point me in the direction of Cena's locker room."

Hunter felt torn. He'd love to allow Cabana to get a piece of Cena. He wanted a piece of Cena too but he couldn't, not yet anyway. "If Cena's involved…"

"Then he's a dead man." Colt said and walked away.

He hated to do it but he turned to the security guards who were looking at him waiting for instructions. "Make sure he doesn't get near Cena." He said reluctantly.

He looked around backstage and saw a lot of looks of disapproval. No one said being COO was a popular position. He looked at his watch and sighed. He needed to wrap up the show and then head to the hospital to make sure Punk was okay. He wished Vince were here so he could leave right now.

"Mr. Helmsley?" A voice asked. "We would like to ask you a few questions." Hunter didn't have to turn around to know it was a police officer. Tonight was going to be a long night.


	14. Hospital Visit Redux

When Hunter and Bryan arrived at the hospital they went to the emergency entrance two hours later. All of the wrestlers were kept after the show for questioning.

When they reached the waiting room the found Colt sitting there with his hand wrapped in ice.

"Do I want to know?" Hunter asked.

"Probably not. Before you ask though, I didn't hit Cena. He snuck out of the building."

Bryan shook his head. "I bet he did. Have you heard anything yet?"

"His arm was re-broken, he's got a concussion, and three broken ribs," he sighed. "The doctor thinks he might need knee surgery. Charlie and Shalene are in there with him now. I was waiting for the rest of his family."

"I'm going to kill Heyman and Cena." Bryan said.

"The cops said they will bring Heyman in for questioning," Hunter said rubbing the bridge of his nose. "But they can't go after Cena because there's no proof Cena had anything to do with it."

"I don't know Hunter," a voice said from across the room. They looked up to see Charlie standing there. "You think some texts from Cena's cellphone will be enough proof?" He asked holding up a cellphone.

"How did you get Cena's cellphone," Colt asked.

"I didn't. It's Phil's. I saw him looking at his cellphone during the show and I asked the doctor to give it to me. Check these out." He said handing Colt the phone. "I mean they might be from Heyman's phone. But I looked in Punk's phone book."

"This is good," Hunter said as he forwarded the messages to his cellphone. "How's Punk?" He asked.

"He's still unconscious but he's going to be pretty mad when he wakes up. When I walked in they had already given him pain medicine."

"I still remember about how he complained about the anesthesia they gave him after the elbow surgery." Colt said.

"But at least he's okay," Bryan said. "Or he will be okay. Broken arm, broken ribs, concussion he can come back from that."

"Knee surgery. That's not good," Hunter said thinking about all of his own knee surgeries. It changed you. He knew there were people that were worried about ruining their knees again.

"Maybe he won't need it," Charlie said, "the doctor said they'd need to do some further examination to find that out."

"Charlie!" They turned around to see an older man headed their way. "I came as soon as I heard the message. How is he?"

Charlie took his dad through the doors to visit Punk.

Hunter's phone started to ring. He looked down at the phone and saw that it was Stephanie. She had stayed home with the girls this show as Aurora was starting first grade. They were still trying to work out how they were going to handle this. He had a feeling with the way things were going; he'd have to be on the road more. Things were falling apart on RAW. He wasn't sure he could trust his father-in-law not to fire Punk for this.

"Hey Steph."

"I saw RAW," she said, "how's Punk?"

"Broken ribs, re-broke his arm, concussion, and he may need knee surgery. His family is in with him right now." He looked at his watch. It was almost 11. "I'll probably be headed back to the hotel soon. How are the girls?"

"Asleep. Aurora's all excited about starting first grade tomorrow. Are you still flying out tomorrow?"

"I think so. I'll have someone keep me posted. I'll definitely need to be in Montreal next Monday though." He saw that Colt was trying to get his attention. "Look I better go. I'll call you in the morning. Love you." He said and hung up.

"He's awake." Colt said as soon as caught up with them. They walked down the hall to the room that the nurse had told them was Punk's. They found Punk laying there looking around sleepily.

"Where am I?" He asked groggily.

"A hospital. You were hit by a car," Colt said stepping closer to the bed.

"A car? Where?" He asked his voice sounding even more confused.

"In the arena," Shalene answered.

"I was hit by a car in the arena? Is that even…" he stopped. "My head hurts," he said as he put his hand on his forehead. "Was it some kind of weird accident like someone took a wrong turn?"

They all exchanged looks. They had no idea how to tell them.

"That's not really important right now son," Mr. Brooks said. "Just get some rest and we can talk about it in the morning."

"They gave me pain meds didn't they?" Punk asked with a yawn. He closed his eyes and was out again.

They looked around.

"So who's going to tell him who hit him?" Colt asked.

They all looked at each other.

"You should. He's your best friend," Hunter said.

"But he's your boss and you don't exactly like him. Maybe Shalene should tell him. You're his favorite sister," Colt said turning to Shalene.

"No way. We'll draw straws."

Mr. Brooks sighed. "I'll tell him."

No one argued with him.


	15. More Awake

Notes: Sorry if the beginning of this chapter seems repetitive. Punk's got a concussion and wasn't completely awake the last time he was conscious. The stuff from TNA I made up which I'm thinking of making into a separate fic or flashback.

Punk came to several hours later in a lot of pain. He had no clue where he was but he could hear noise outside of the room. He could tell he was lying in bed with one of his legs suspended. Every part of him hurt. He tried to sit up.

"Take it easy Phil," a voice said from next to him. He turned to see his mother sitting next to him.

"What happened?" He asked.

"You were in an accident," she explained.

"Where," he asked.

"At the arena. What do you remember?" She asked.

"Doing commentary," he put his hand up towards his head and found a bandage there. "Did Cena hit me or something?" Nothing was making sense to him.

"No sweetie," she said grabbing his hand. "You were hit by a car."

"Car?" He asked still not quite comprehending what his mother was saying. "How was I hit by a car? Did it happen while I was leaving the arena?"

"No it happened at the show," his father said from somewhere next to him. "From what Scott said, you left ringside and were hit by a car."

"By who?" He didn't still comprehend what they were saying but maybe if he knew whom it would help explain what had happened.

"Paul Heyman."

Punk shut his eyes for a moment in disbelief. "Paul Heyman hit me with a car? Was he aiming for Hunter?"

"I heard that Punk," Hunter said from the doorway. "We don't know why he did it but it was definitely him."

He struggled to sit up and his parents helped him to do so. "Is my knee okay?" He asked upon seeing his leg in traction.

"They don't know yet," his mother answered.

"Excuse me," a voice said from the doorway. They looked up to see a blonde nurse trying to push past Hunter to come into the room. "I'm glad to see you are awake Philip," she said, "but it's time for your pain medication."

"No!" He said.

"It'll help with the pain," she said with a smile, "trust me you are going to need this."

"No drugs," he said trying to shrink away from the nurse. "I'm straight edge. I don't take any kinds of drugs."

"But Philip you really need to take the pain medication."

"I feel like I'm already on pain medication," he said, "my head's all fuzzy."

"Well yes when we brought you in, it was the first thing we did," she said, "see and you're just fine."

"I'm not fine! I was given drugs! I was hit by a car and you think I'm fine?"

"I'm sorry nurse," His father said. "Phil will not take any drugs."

She sighed. "We can't force you to take them." She shined a light in his eyes to check the pupil reaction and made a note on his chart. "My name is Valerie by the way. Let me know if you need anything," she said and exited the room.

Hunter stepped in the room for a moment. "I need to catch a flight to Connecticut. Call me if you need anything."

"Yeah still got your number from last year."

"I bet you do," Hunter said and left the room.

"He seems like a nice man," His mom said, "not the bad boss we see on TV every week."

"Yeah for some reason he suddenly wants to be friends," Punk said falling back against his pillows. He cringed as pain went through his ribs. "So what are the injuries?" He asked.

"Three broken ribs, a concussion, and you re-broke your arm," his father answered. "Along with some damage to your knee."

Punk closed his eyes tightly. "This place smells awful. Like the stuff that Father Mitchell pushed into my face."

"Father what?" His father asked.

"Father Mitchell. He shoved ether in my face once," he said with a grimace remembering that night. "Back when he was trying to destroy Raven. He went after Julio and me too. Burned me with a fireball too just because I was defending Raven. Still remember being rushed to the hospital for stitches more then once. Did I ever mention how much I don't miss TNA?"

Colt snickered from the doorway. "At least once or twice. Glad to see you are awake, man. How are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a car. How ya doing Colt?"

"Better then you apparently," he said and came in. "Hi," he said to Punk's adopted parents before handing each of them coffee.

"Thanks Scott," they said.

"Hey! Where's my coffee?" Punk said looking at the coffee that was in his best friend's hands.

"Didn't know you were awake," Colt said coming into your room. "I'd offer you mine but you claim I put too much sugar in it. This from the Pepsi addict."

"Best kind of addiction and I haven't had a Pepsi since January. I could use one though."

"You'll probably be served something soon," his mother said.

"Hospital food. Yuck. First meds and now bad food, what's next? They'll probably try to sneak medication in my food. He started to reach for the call button and stopped as pain went through his ribs. "I hate this. I am so going to kill Heyman."

"Get in line man. Get in line."


	16. Quick Exit

Notes: My version of Montreal. While I realize Bret Hart opened the show that night, I decided someone couldn't wait.

RAW opened that night with a video package of the backstage brawl between Cena and Del Rio.

"Fans," Michael Cole's voice came through on a voice over, "while this was happening the unthinkable happened." The video stopped to show Punk standing around backstage looking confused and then a car hitting him full on. The car window rolled down showing Paul Heyman. The car backed up and drove back out the way it came.

"Fans we have an update on CM Punk. He is at home resting. From what we understand he suffered a concussion, several broken ribs, and his arm was re-broken. He has also undergone knee surgery. We do not know when he will be back but we wish him a speedy recovery."

The fans started cheering.

"Triple H is making his way to the ring!" Lawler said.

Triple H made his way to the ring all business. He walked over to the timekeeper and took a microphone from him. He entered the ring.

"John Cena come out here right now."

It's My Time Started playing and a smiling John Cena came out.

The fans were booing and there was a chant of We Want Punk! Cena looked into the camera and shrugged. "It's Canada what do you expect?"

That made the fans that were close enough to hear start booing even louder.

John Cena entered the ring still smiling before going to the edge of the ring to get a microphone.

Hunter held up a cellphone.

"I received some very interesting text messages from CM Punk's cellphone."

"I didn't know you and Punk were such good friends Hunter."

"Whether I'm friends or not with CM Punk is none of your business. What is my business is when I find out one of my employees had another of my employees run over by a car."

"What? Are you accusing me of having Paul Heyman run over Punk? Why would I want to work with Heyman?"

Hunter ignored him. "Here are the text messages Punk received during your match. Punk come to the back if you want to know why Cena attacked you. Another one says I'll be leaving when the match is over and I won't be contacting you again. And the third one he received said I'm out near the entrance. They won't let me in."

"And you think that makes me responsible how?" Cena asked. "Paul Heyman probably heard you two were such good friends that he decided to get back at you or something. I might not like Punk but I wouldn't have him run over."

"Tell me Cena," Hunter said, "do you recognize this phone number?" He held up the cellphone for Cena to see the screen.

"But…" Cena stammered. "That's not…"

"For everyone who doesn't know, that is John Cena's phone number."

"I didn't send the text messages! How could I? I was fighting Del Rio."

"Roll the footage."

Footage started on the screen showing Randy Orton standing in the back with a cellphone in hand typing away.

"It's like dejavu all over again. Didn't we just have this problem last year with text messages?" Cole asked from the commentating booth.

"That doesn't mean anything," John said turning back to face Hunter. "So Randy was on his cellphone. You know us by now Hunter. We are always tweeting," he said with a very small smile but the fear was apparent in his eyes.

"Except it's your cellphone John."

"You can't prove anything. I didn't send the text messages." John started pacing. "And I doubt Randy did it either. You are just mad because Punk's got ran over and you are worried about some lawsuit."

"I'm worried about a lot of things John but a lawsuit isn't one of them. I know I'm not the GM but I'm making a match tonight. It will be you teaming with Randy Orton to face Daniel Bryan and a mystery opponent. You know I might actually have the WWE Universe pick his partner." He started to leave the ring but stopped. "Oh and John, if I ever do find out you were behind the text messages, you are fired." He said and left the ring.

Cena was left in the ring with a blank look on his face. Something hit him in the back. He turned around to see a paper cut lying on the mat. He quickly got out of the ring to avoid more garbage.

* * *

"Where did you get the footage of Orton?" Bryan asked coming up to Hunter as soon as he got to the back.

"I got a phone call on Wednesday saying that there was a tape I had to see. I really wish we could actually prove that Orton was sending the texts but the time stamp matches the time that Punk was getting the texts."

"Who am I teaming with?" Bryan asked.

Hunter cocked his head to a deserted area of the arena. "Me. But don't say anything. I was it to be a surprise."

Bryan was surprised but pleased by that announcement. He knew Orton and Cena wouldn't be prepared for it.

* * *

Later that night Orton and Cena entered the ring and awaited their opponent. First Bryan came out. Then there was a pause as the ring announcer said, "and his partner," he waited.

Time to Play the Game started. The arena went crazy as Hunter came out in his ring gear. Orton and Cena looked worried.

The match went back and forth for a good ten minutes before the match ended in a double DQ. Orton and Cena left the ring quickly.

"Shit," Bryan said standing up. He pointed in the audience.

They saw Paul Heyman sitting in the front row. The look of anger on Hunter's face was the last thing anyone at home saw before the show went off the air.

Heyman nodded at them and then quickly moved through the crowd. he was long gone before Hunter and Bryan found him.


	17. Night of Champions

Notes: Thanks to Jules for her constant assistance with my fic. Thanks to my reviewers and people who read but don't review. I've seen the stats and I really appreciate it. Makes me feel this fic isn't that completely insane.

"This is a horrible idea," Punk's sister, Cassie, said as she set up Punk's laptop for him to watch the Night of Champions PPV. Punk was off having more x-rays done and the family had wanted to surprise him. Cassie was the only one who voiced her disagreement.

"Hunter gave the code," her mom said. "He said Phil should be kept in the loop if he plans to come back to do commentary soon. Which probably won't be considering the doctors didn't even want to make any guarantee he'd be in the ring by the beginning of next year."

"Yeah but do we really want him to have to watch Cena wrestle?" Cassie asked. "He's still mad that the WWE won't do anything about Cena having him run over."

"Cassie you know why," Shalene said. "Besides, this way we can all watch Bryan kick Cena's ass for Phil." She stepped back away from the laptop. "It's all ready to go."

The door opened and an orderly rolled Punk into the room and then assisted him into the bed. Since Punk was refusing any type of painkillers, he was having a hard time moving around. The nurses were still trying to get Punk to take the pain medication but so far were unsuccessful.

"Why's my laptop on the homepage," Punk asked as soon as he was settled in the hospital bed. He had his phone in his hand ready to look for texts. He was getting much better at sending texts with one hand.

"Hunter called while you were gone to give you a code so you can watch Night of Champions," his mother answered.

"Nice," Punk said distractedly. He smirked at one of the texts from Colt. It seemed that #IfCenaWinsWeRiot was trending on twitter. He hadn't really felt like keeping up with his twitter page while in the hospital because he really didn't have much to say. Colt kept his followers up to date for him though.

"It's starting," Shalene, said pulling up one of the hospital chairs closer to the bed so she could watch it on the laptop.

Punk had a hard time paying attention to the show as his knee was starting to hurt again. He was tempted to ask one of his sisters to get him more ice when something on the screen caught his attention.

He hit the video so it would go back a few seconds and hit pause. "Heyman's there," he said indicating the former head of ECW who was sitting front row with who looked to be…

"Isn't that Brock Lesnar?" His mother asked trying to get a closer look.

Punk started to reach for his phone and Shalene was already handing it to him. "You didn't tell me you had him in your phone book." She said with a smirk.

"What? He calls here enough I thought I might as well have his name on there so I know when to ignore him." He waited while the phone rang.

"What?" Was the answer from a very angry man.

"Did you see who's at ringside?" punk demanded. "Did you see who's with him?"

"Of course I see who's with him," came the agitated reply. "Not much I can do about it at the moment Punk. But I have sent security out to remove him. Look Bryan's going to be covered. "If I even see someone coming out to ringside I will deal with them personally. If I knew you'd get this upset I wouldn't have given you the code to watch it for free. Look I've got to go. Just know I am handling it." He said and hung up without saying another word.

"Well that's just great," Punk said slamming the phone down not caring if it broke. "Hunter says he's dealing with it."

"Looks like he did," Cassie said pointing at the fact that Lesnar and Heyman were no longer at ringside.

Punk sat back in the bed and sighed. He wished this show would end already. Half way through the match the pain in his knee became worse and he had to send Shalene to get the ice for his knee. A nurse followed her in with a tray.

"I know you don't want any painkillers Phil," she said, "but here's some fish oil vitamins. Please at least consider taking these." She said setting it down on the table. "Don't tell anyone I gave it to you," she said and left.

Punk looked at them and considered it before adjusting the ice on his knee. He had to hope the ice would kick in. He looked at the clock on his computer. It was a Cena match so he knew the match he most cared about would be last.

They watched Randy Orton and Eve Torres both with their matches. They also watched Shamus beat Alberto Del Rio after Booker T overruled AJ's match saying that Del Rio deserved the title shot.

"He's like Cena," Punk said about Del Rio. "Always expecting a title match. He was cranky from the pain and angry about being in a hospital bed instead of wrestling on the show.

The main event started and John Cena came out to a chorus of boos. The fans seemed even more hostile then usual to their native son.

"Not like Chicago," The mother said shaking her head.

"Boston doesn't respect phonies," Punk said still remembering last year and when he returned to the WWE after Vince McMahon suspended him. They had cheered him more then Cena and that was back when Punk was still getting booed and didn't care what the fans thought. Cena seemed to not care about what the fans wanted either. He didn't even try to disguise his anger at being booed. He stood on the ramp and shook his head.

"Hey Punk how you doing," Cena said into the camera with a smirk on his face.

"Hey he totally stole your Colt Cabana line from last year," Shalene said.

Punk shrugged. "He's not known for being original."

They watched as Bryan came out to a much better reaction. He had stopped giving the fans a hard time for the yes chants realizing they weren't making fun of him they actually did like him. He was wearing his American Dragon jacket and Punk thought he saw ROH on his wrist tape when he took the jacket off. He also saw the other taped hand had the date 2/11/06 which was the date of his last ROH show. He grinned. He knew Bryan would get in trouble for that if someone actually looked at his fists and realized what that meant. Bryan handed the title over to Chad Patton who took it from him.

The match went back and forth with Bryan having the advantage early on before Cena knocked him out of the ring and continued attacking him. They went back into the ring where they exchanged punches and kicks before Cena rolled out of the ring and stood on the mat catching his breath. Bryan flew out of the ring with a suicide dive that sent Cena crashing into the barricade.

Both wrestlers lay on the mat as Patton started the ten count. They both rolled into the ring before the ten count.

They exchanged more punches before Bryan locked on the Yes Lock! Cena struggled and managed to get to the rope. The ref broke the hold and Cena hit Bryan in the gut with a knee and lifted him up for his finishing move. Bryan blocked it and hit Cena with a forearm. Cena fell back into the referee causing the Patton to fall out of the ring.

Cena slammed Bryan onto the mat and went for the five-knuckle shuffle but Bryan rolled out of the way. He got to his feet and hit Cena with a high knee knocking Cena to the mat. He locked the Yes Lock on once again with Cena in the middle of the ring.

Cena was tapping.

"Where's the referee?" Lawler asked. "Cena's tapping!"

The camera showed Patton still on the arena floor not moving. There were some screams from the fans as someone jumped over the barricade.

"It's Lesnar! It's Lesnar!" Cole yelled.

Lesnar picked Bryan up and hit him with an F5 before putting Cena on top. Paul Heyman helped the referee back into the ring. Patton made the three count and rang the bell.

Punk picked up his phone and dialed Hunter. Hunter didn't pick up.

"Do you need any more proof Hunter?!" He yelled into his phone before throwing it against the wall.

His family didn't know how to help so they didn't say anything.


	18. Night of Champions Aftermath

_I got some rocks on my shoes__  
__Fears I wish I could lose__  
__They make the mountains so hard to climb__  
__And my heart gets so heavy with the weight of the world sometimes_

_Long Way Home by Steven Curtis Chapman_

"Where's Hunter?" Bryan yelled as he walked to the back after the match. He was still a little sore from the F5 and was mad. He wanted to get a hold of Cena and Lesnar but he had been told that they had already left the building along with Heyman.

"I'm right here," Hunter, said from down the hall where he was standing with several security guards. Orton was sitting in a chair with a self-satisfied smile on his face. "Where'd they go Randy?" Hunter asked.

"How should I know," Orton answered. "Last I checked they were running out the back."

"And yet you are still here," Hunter said.

"Well someone had to keep you distracted didn't they," Orton asked. "We couldn't have you try to save the day. Heard you tell Punk that on the phone. For a guy who says he's not friends with him, you certainly are all chummy."

"As I've said many times Orton, Punk and I are not friends. My contacting him is concern for an employee who got ran over by a car. Which you were a part of."

Orton shrugged. "It's not a big loss Hunter. I still remember how you would talk about how Punk would get nowhere in the company and that he was a waste of money. That was only what? Two years ago? What changed?"

"He proved to me that he's as good as he claims to be. It happens Randy. I was wrong about you after all."

Orton glared at him. "So what are you going to do Hunter? Fire us? Do you really think the board would allow you to do that?"

"I think they would," Hunter's was starting to boil over with anger. "Get him out of here," he said to the security. "Don't bother to show up at RAW Orton. Until the board makes up it's mind you are suspended."

"That's fine Hunter. I heard Chicago's lovely this time of year."

Bryan lunged at Orton and security quickly pulled him off. Another security guard escorted Orton out the door, as he was already dressed. The security guards let him go. "Why did you stop me?" Bryan demanded.

"Sorry Daniel," one of the guards said, "AJ asked us to make sure no one touched Orton."

"Oh she did, did she," Bryan asked before storming away to find the RAW GM.

Hunter took out his phone and made a phone call. No one answered. He tried again before calling Punk's sister's number.

* * *

Chaleen's phone rang. "Hello?" her eyebrows rose. "Sure he's right here." She said and handed the phone to Punk.

"Hello?" Punk asked still fuming.

"I can explain..." the person on the other end said.

"You said you had Bryan's back! You said you'd make sure that Heyman and Lesnar wouldn't interfere! If that's your idea of handling things I'd suggest stopping now."

"Look Punk I know this looks bad. I was jumped from behind by Orton during the match. By the time I was back on my feet the match was over. What happened to your phone?"

"It had an accident with the wall," Punk snapped. "Who cares about my phone Paul," he said using Hunter's real name. "How are you going to fix this?"

"I don't know yet but I will. I'll have an answer at the RAW in Connecticut. I've called a board meeting for tomorrow to discuss Cena and Orton's future in the company. Look I need to go. Should I call you on your sister's cellphone tomorrow."

"Yeah I don't know when I'll get a new phone. I have to go too. The nurse is in here trying to tell me I need to get some rest. Bye Hunter." Punk said and hung up the phone.

* * *

Hunter remembered what Orton said and dialed Charleen's number again but got no answer. Just great. He'd have to try again tomorrow.


	19. Board Meeting

Punk woke up the next morning to a stabbing pain in his knee. He reached for the fish oil vitamins that the nurse had left for him the night before. He took them hoping they would do the trick. He knew they were natural unlike the painkillers that they were usually trying to get him to take.

"Well, well. If it isn't the best in the world," a voice said from the doorway.

Punk looked up to see Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar standing in the doorway. His eyes shut for a moment knowing this couldn't end well. "What do you want Paul?" He asked.

"Just came to visit one of my protégés," he said entering the room and sitting in one of the chairs in the room. Brock chose to stand. "How are you doing Punk? I honestly thought you'd be out of the hospital by now. I didn't hurt you that bad did I?"

Punk was about to reach for Paul when he remembered Lesnar was there and despite his size, he could move fast and Punk would be in even more pain.

Paul smirked at the anger on Punk's face. "Now, now Punk. You don't want to end up in intensive care do you? Brock and I are here just to talk. Did you see Night of Champions last night? My new protégé beat your buddy for the title. Or should I say your title. You were champ for almost 300 days. That's impressive. You didn't even lose the belt. You've come far since the days that WWE didn't want to call you up on TV. Now you are a has been. I've talked to your doctors Punk. They don't think you'll be back."

"That's a lie," Punk said even though that was one of his fears that his career was over.

"You think so? You know you might have a better chance if you took your painkillers. But you won't will you? You are straight edge. What did you used to say that meant? It meant that you are better then everyone? It seems it makes you a loser who can't even get out of bed without assistance."

"Why did you hit me with the car?" Punk asked not wanting to think about what Paul was saying to him.

"Because you needed to be taken down Punk. It's as simple as that," he said folding his arms across his chest. "You've lost it all. You lost your precious title and you may have lost your career. You are not nearly as special as I thought you were. You were just another wrestler who thought he was better then everyone. You aren't Punk. You may be friends with Hunter but don't you know being friends with Hunter leaves you broken? Just ask his best friend HBK."

Punk was about to come back with a reply when the door opened.

"Hey bro," Colt's voice said as he entered the room. "What are you doing here?" He demanded upon seeing who else was in the hospital room.

"We were just leaving," Paul said as he got out of the chair. He pulled something out of his jacket and dropped it on Punk's lap and then left the room.

Punk looked down at the item and found a folded up piece of paper. He unfolded it and read it before crumpling it into a ball and throwing it away. Colt picked it up and opened it. It was a picture from the Chicago RAW where Punk was laying on the pavement in a pool of blood.

* * *

Hunter adjusted and then readjusted his tie as he listened to the board argue about why they couldn't fire Cena and Orton.

"Night of Champions last night is proof that Cena and Orton had something to do with Punk getting run over. We can not permit them to stay in the company!"

"Paul calm down," Basil Devito said from his side of the table. "Cena and Orton both deny having anything to do with Punk getting hit by the car. They said they started working with Paul Heyman after that."

"And we are supposed to believe them?" Hunter demanded. "You saw the footage of Orton sending those texts to Punk!"

"But there's still no proof," Patricia Gottesman said. "I know where you are coming from Paul. We all feel bad for what happened to Punk but there's nothing we can do. Suspending Orton should be enough. Maybe we can suspend Cena until Hell in a Cell too."

"And strip him of the title," Paul said.

Stephanie shook her head. "We can't do that. Let's just make Hell in a Cell a rematch between Daniel Bryan and John Cena. No one can interfere in the match so it will be a fair match."

"I don't believe this," Hunter said shaking his head. "It's like we are going to condone them for what they did."

"Not at all," Basil said. "We'll levy a huge fine on both of them. We'll make sure that Heyman and Lesnar won't be allowed in the building."

"Look Hunter I know you are friends with Punk," Kevin Dunn said. He held up a hand when he saw that Hunter was going to protest. "But we really don't have the proof that Cena and Orton knew what Heyman was going to do. At least Cena didn't but Orton denies the texts.

"But there is one person we can fire. There's enough proof to show that AJ was the one who allowed Heyman and Lesnar back into the arena and she wouldn't let anyone near Orton. I say we fire her."

There wasn't any debate and her firing was unanimous. After the meeting Paul stayed seated and watched everyone leave.

Stephanie stopped next to him. "Look Hunter I'm sorry the meeting didn't turn out the way you wanted it to."

"I know whose fault that is. Vince's." Hunter said and got up from his chair and left the room. His father-in-law may not have been at the meeting but Hunter knew he had something to do with this. He was going to fix this. There was no way Orton and Cena were going to get away with it.


	20. Hunter's Bad Day Continues

Hunter was not in a good mood as he checked his phone for messages. He had left the phone at home during the meeting and was just now listening to his messages. He really didn't want to call Punk and tell him what the Board Meeting was about. A message from Cabana stopped him though.

"This is Scott Colton. Heyman and Lesnar were just here. Punk doesn't want to talk about what they said but it can't be good. Heyman gave him a picture of the Chicago RAW where Punk was lying in blood. Look call me later if you don't want to talk to Punk."

"Damn it!" Hunter said as he looked at his watch. He didn't have time to call Punk or Colt at the moment. What else could go wrong? He wondered as he walked down the hall. He didn't even notice Road Dogg as he pushed past him.

"Hunter," Road Dogg called after him.

Hunter turned around. "What?" He snapped.

"What's going on with you?" He asked.

"Oh just everything. Punk's being harassed in the hospital. The Board won't let me do my job and now I'm going to be late for the start of the show."

"Hunter you are letting this all get to you. Punk's not worth all this frustration. Let him handle it and you just do your job."

"I can't do my job if Paul Heyman keeps running over my employees! Look, I'll talk to you later," Hunter said and walked to the Gorilla Position where the technicians were waiting to play his music. They had five minutes before the show started so he stood there impatiently.

The pyro started and Hunter watched as the music for RAW started. He nodded at one of the technicians who hit his music. He walked out to the ring to cheers. It wasn't quite like the entrance Punk got in Chicago but it was enough to make his day a little easier.

He took the mic from Frank and looked at the chair where Punk would have been sitting. It bolstered his resolve in what he was about to do. He waited for the fans to quiet down before he started to speak.

"I was sickened by what happened last night at Night of Champions. If you missed the show, then you missed Brock Lesnar hitting an F5 on Daniel Bryan to help John Cena get the win."

There were loud boos at this.

"I was attacked by Randy Orton in the back. As Brock and Heyman do not work here I am unable to leaven any punishments or fines on them. However I can suspend the people responsible. John Cena and Randy Orton both have been suspended until October 28th. John Cena will be required to defend his title against Daniel Bryan in a rematch at Hell in a Cell."

There were cheers at the mention of the rematch.

"There is one more thing I need to take care of. I would like AJ Lee to come out to the ring."

Let's Light it Up started to play. There was a mixed reaction from the fans as most were not sure what was going on. AJ came skipping out to the ring with a large smile on her face.

"Hi Hunter," she said after taking a mic from ringside. "I think it's great that you've suspended Cena and Orton. Too bad you couldn't fire them huh?"

"Funny you should mention firing," Hunter said.

The smile slid off her face. She looked at him with a puzzled look on her face. "Fired? Who's getting fired? Can't be me. I've been doing a great job as RAW GM." She said the smile returning to her face.

"Such a good job that you let Heyman and Lesnar back into the arena last night after security threw them out."

Footage started playing on the Titan Tron of AJ escorting Heyman and Lesnar back into the arena.

"Also security told Daniel Bryan that you told them that no one was allowed to touch Orton."

"I figured you'd want to talk to him first," AJ said panic evident in her voice. "As for letting them back into the arena, Heyman threatened to sue if we didn't let him back in. I had to let him back in."

"Board doesn't believe that AJ. As of right now you're fired." He said in the same nonchalant way that he had told R-Truth and Miz they were fired a year ago. "Now get out of my ring."

AJ stood there her mouth agape still not believing what she was hearing. "You can't fire me!"

"I just did. Either leave the ring or I will have Security escort you out."

AJ turned tossed the mic onto the mat and then left the ring. Hunter watched her go before following her out.

* * *

In the back Daniel Bryan was waiting for him. He had heard the promo and was happy about AJ being fired. He knew she had it in for him and Punk ever since she took over as GM. He hadn't known about the footage of her letting Heyman and Lesnar back into the arena. He was mad about something Hunter had said before he fired AJ.

"Hunter," Bryan called as soon as Hunter was back through the curtains. "Cena's suspended but he's not stripped of the title? Vince quickly stripped Punk of the title because of the thirty-day clause. How is that fair that Cena is not stripped?"

"My hands are tied on this Bryan. The Board ruled not to strip Cena of the title and to give you the title shot at Hell in a Cell. Trust me if I had my way Cena, Orton, and AJ would all be fired right now. You've got a match with Kane by the way." His phone started to buzz. He looked down at it and sighed. Punk. He was sure the straight edge superstar wasn't happy about what had happened either.

He walked away from Bryan.

"I see you have a new phone," Hunter said as soon as he hit talk.

"Yeah Chez brought me a new one today. Orton and Cena are suspended? I thought you said you'd fire Cena if you found out he had anything to do with my getting hit by a car."

"I went into the meeting ready to fire both of them but the Board overruled me and before you ask, I wanted to strip Cena of the title. Colt said you got a visit from Heyman and Lesnar today."

"Yeah," Punk said but didn't add anything to it.

"You want to talk about it?"

"Not really." Came the reply.

Hunter looked up to see one of the security guards trying to get his attention. "Sorry Punk. I've got to go." He said and hung up. He went up to the security guard. "What is it?" He demanded. He was still in a fowl mood from earlier that day.

"Did you look at the monitor?" He asked.

Hunter turned and saw who was in the ring. "Damn it! How did he get in the building?" He demanded.

He was glad he was still holding the microphone that he had been using earlier as he made his way out to the ring. He had to duck around the garbage that the fans were throwing at the occupant of the ring. "How did you get in here?" He demanded.

"AJ let me in on her way out," came the smug reply of the man who had been the man behind ECW for nearly ten years.

"Security will show you out of the arena. You're lucky I don't have you arrested!"

"Hold on there Hunter," Paul said with a smile. "I just wanted to talk to you. I know you love showing footage so I thought I'd bring my own. I think the fans need to be reminded of just what kind of a man you are."

Footage started playing of Austin being hit by a car at Survivor Series 1999.

"Do you remember that night Hunter?" Heyman asked.

Hunter tried to lunge at him but Brock looked ready to pounce. He decided to wait to see what Heyman was going to say. He already didn't like this.

The footage then showed Triple H announcing who ran over Austin.

"It seems Cena's not the only one guilty of having someone run over by a car Mr. Helmsley," Heyman said with a huge smirk on his face. "Almost 13 years ago you had Rikishi run over Steve Austin. How does that make you better then us Hunter? You are a hypocrite!"

The fans started booing. Most of the fans in attendance didn't remember or know about the incident at Survivor Series 1999.

"You want to have Cena fired because he supposedly had me run over Punk? How do we know it wasn't you that did it Hunter? It wouldn't be the first time right?"

"I didn't do it," Hunter said with a glare on his face.

"I wonder if your buddy Punk knew about this. Maybe he should be questioning whom he's friends with. You act like you are better then me Hunter but we both know we are a lot alike. We both know what it takes to succeed. Oh and by the way Hunter? Did the Board tell you who the new GM is?"

Hunter shook his head not sure he was going to like where this was going.

"It's me!"

* * *

Notes: Thanks to Jules for her ideas in this fic. I was originally going to have Hunter be temporarily GM but somehow this chapter did not want to go that way.


	21. Breaking the Rules

Punk had been home from the hospital for a week and was already bored out of his mind. He wasn't allowed back to work and he would be starting physical therapy on his knee the next week. Since he had knee surgery and a broken arm, he had been given a wheelchair to get around until he was cleared to use one crutch. This was absolutely the wrong thing for him. He didn't like to sit still. Unfortunately it was the wrong thing for Colt too as he had volunteered to help him while he was recovering.

Colt came in with a bottle of juice in one hand and a diet Pepsi in the other. "Are you sure you don't want a Pepsi?" He asked frowning at the concoction that Chez had made for him the other day. "This stuff looks gross."

"Hey I may not be allowed to wrestle but I'm not going to let myself get out of shape." He flipped through the channels once more not finding anything to watch. He looked at the clock on the Blu Ray player and sighed. He supposed he could watch RAW. He hadn't watched RAW since Paul Heyman took over as GM of RAW. From what he read online, it seemed Heyman was going out of his way to make Bryan miserable such as putting him in matches against Kane, Big Show, and Great Khali. At one point he had faced Big Show and Kane in a handicapped match. Maybe it was a good thing he wasn't allowed back on the road. He couldn't imagine what Paul would do to him.

"Is there anything going on in Chicago this week?"

"Not that I know of. I mean your show was a couple weeks ago."

"Still can't believe they made me come back to the hospital right away," Punk interrupted him remembering the night at the Portage Theater where his DVD premiered. He had been allowed to attend but then had to return to the hospital.

"Oh here's something," Cabana said. "Ring of Honor is having a surprise show tomorrow. Hey maybe we can have some of them come over and we can hang out."

"Or we could just go to the show."

Colt didn't hear him. "Maybe you could have a screening for them since you were in the ROH building for the DVD. I know Cornette will want to come but we are not inviting Whitmer."

"Or we could just go to the show." Punk repeated.

"Nah bad idea bro. Where did I put my phone," Colt said looking under the comic books that were all over the coffee table. "I'm going to call Corino and see if he can spread the word."

"Colt just stop," Punk said as he painfully sat up on the couch. "I'm serious let's go to the show."

"Punk the doctor said you aren't allowed to go back to work remember?"

"I'm not going back to work Colt. I'm going to someone else's work. We'll just sit in the audience and that's about as close as I want to get to the action."

"Dude you'll get fired for being at the show. You saw what they did to the Highlanders when one of them went to a TNA show. They'll fire you and probably sue you for breach of contract."

"I don't care about that anymore. I'm not exactly ready to hop in a wrestling ring," Punk said pointing at his arm and then his leg, which was heavily wrapped in an ace bandage. It was currently propped up on a pillow with ice. The pain wasn't getting any better and he had to check himself out of the hospital, as the doctors still didn't think Punk should be out of the hospital yet.

"Say we go to this show, how do you expect to get tickets? The show's tomorrow."

"You forgot something. I'm CM Punk."

"And so?"

"I know people. Where's my phone?"

"Dude I haven't even found mine yet! I'm calling your sisters tomorrow and see if they want to cheer you up again by cleaning."

Punk smirked. "We can tell them their reward will be tickets to the ROH show." He smiled. This was the first real smile he had shown since the car accident. Colt couldn't help but smile back. Maybe going to the show wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

Jim Cornette watched backstage curiously. He couldn't quite understand why everyone seemed to be so excited. You could feel it in the air. Cornette couldn't figure out why though. Tonight was just a regular show and not a PPV. He saw one of the referees, Todd Sinclair, walking around.

"What's going on? Did tonight get changed into a PPV and no one told me?"

"Punk and Cabana are in the audience. Rhino saw them enter the building."

"Punk's here?" Jim asked a smile starting to spread across his face. He had heard that a car had hit Punk but last he checked Punk still worked for the WWE. "Is he looking to jump ship?"

"Don't know. As far as I know he's still in WWE and Colt's still with APW."

Jim sighed. "I could see WWE suing us for having Punk on the show. Just what we needed. If WWE asks, we didn't know anything. Does Cary know about it?"

"He's not here yet."

"Good. I am going to talk to the roster. No one is to draw the attention to the fact that Punk and Cabana are here. They are to act like this is just a normal show. I'm sure that's what Punk would prefer. Thank God it's not a TV taping. Too bad we won't be able to keep this off of the net."

"Yeah I'm sure it's already been tweeted by the wrestlers and fans. Most of the roster look up to him you know." Todd said before he walked away.

Cornette did know. He'd love to have both of them back on the ROH roster but Punk was still in WWE. As far as he knew he had a long contract. Part of him wished Punk would get fired and come back home to ROH.

* * *

Colt liked attention. He'd be the first one to say it but he didn't like how everyone in the building's eyes were on him and Punk. Punk in his Cubs hat and wheelchair was hard to miss. A few people had nervously come over to ask for their autographs and Punk didn't sign any of them. Colt did with a smile. Punk seemed to be in his own world that night.

Chez was currently talking to him about the match that was in the ring. But Punk didn't seem to be paying attention to it. After Grizzly Redwood lost the match, he exited the ring and walked up to where Colt and Punk were sitting.

"Good to see you man," Grizzly said sticking his hand out. Grizzly was one of the wrestlers that Punk trained at ROH.

"Hey," Punk greeted taking his hand and shaking it. "You looked good in there," he said. "Tough loss."

He just shrugged. "Good to see you man," he said and then walked to the back.

Colt raised his eyebrows at Punk. "And you thought you wouldn't be noticed."

Punk's phone buzzed. He looked down at the phone. There was a text from Hunter.

_Are you trying to get fired or something?_

Punk replied with _maybe I am_

He turned off the phone ready to watch the rest of the show.

"Hunter knows I'm here."

"Did he fire you," Chez asked.

"I'm thinking that's a possibility." Punk said and then sat back in the wheelchair. He didn't want to think about his future. He wanted to forget his problems for a while.

As they left the building later that night Punk turned to one of the security guards and said, "tell Cornette to if I do get fired to get ready to validate my parking." He said with a grin.

The security guard looked confused.

"He'll get it," Punk said as he, Colt, and Chez left the arena.

* * *

Notes: Cornette said that if Punk wanted to come back to ROH he would carry his bags and validate his parking. Two chapters in one day, I'm on a roll with this fic.


	22. Future Endeavored

The next day Punk was lying around his apartment bored out of his mind. Going to the ROH show had been fun but he was worn out. He'd also spent some of the night worried about what would be his fate with the WWE. The phone started to ring. He didn't even have to look at the caller ID to know who was on the phone.

"Let it go to voice mail," he said to Cabana.

"It could be important," Colt said with a shrug and answered it. "Punk's phone." He was quiet for a few seconds before he covered the receiver. "Hunter's on the phone."

"Told you to let it go to voicemail," Punk said without looking up from the comic he was reading. "Tell him I'm not here."

"He's not here." Colt said into the phone and then listened. "He said he doesn't care and wants to talk to you right now."

Punk rolled his eyes and took the phone from Cabana. "Yeah."

There was silence.

"You are calling to wish me best of luck in my future endeavors aren't you?

"I'm sorry Punk. I wish I didn't have to make this call but you brought this on yourself by going to the show last night. You know that while under contract for the WWE you can not just go to another companies show."

"I still don't know what the big deal is," Punk said as he struggled to sit up. "I wasn't going to jump in the ring and start wrestling. I was bored and I wanted to see some of my friends. I've trained a couple of the guys on the roster. I know you are just doing your job Hunter but I just want you to know I think it's bullshit."

"I don't know if this is good news or not. We have waived the 90 day no compete clause."

Punk snorted. "Yeah that clause does seem ridiculous when I'm not cleared to even be on TV."

"Well that's why we are waiving the 90 day clause," Hunter said. "Look I'm going to try to get you rehired but I can't make any guarantees."

"Yeah I won't hold my breath. You know where to find me. If I'm not here I'll be in Philadelphia," he said and hung up. He couldn't believe this. In the span of two months he had his arm broken, he was stripped of his title, hit by a car, and now unemployed. He really hated Cena and Heyman right now.

Colt saw that Punk was about to throw another phone so he took it from him. Punk had already lost one phone he didn't want to have to call one of Punk's sisters to pick up another one. He set it down on the coffee table out of Punk's current reach. He walked back over to Punk. "Hey it's going to be okay," he said seeing that Punk was close to tears. "We'll call ROH and I'm sure they'll want to hire you. As soon as it breaks on the Internet I'm sure your phone will be ringing off the hook."

"They aren't going to want me Colt. I might never wrestle again."

"Don't even talk like that. You heard the doctors; they aren't making any guarantees either way. A wrestling company would have to be really stupid not to want to hire you. You are better then any commentator and you know it."

"Yeah sure," Punk said and threw his comic across the room. He closed his eyes and cried.

Colt didn't know what to do so he just let his best friend cry. It was most likely the first time Punk cried since the Chicago RAW and he knew his friend needed to do it. He wished security had let him get Cena that night. Punk didn't deserve any of this. Cena was lucky he didn't work for the WWE or he'd be a dead man.

* * *

Notes: Sorry for the short chapter but it just seemed like the perfect place to end it.


	23. Depressed

_No one said it was gonna be easy  
And i'm not afraid to try  
With the odds stacked up against me, i will have to fight  
One life, one chance, gotta do it right_

One Life One Chance by H2O

Colt sighed as he threw the curtains open in Punk's bedroom. Punk had been locked inside of his room all day. "Come on Punker time to get up," Colt said trying to sound cheerful.

"Go away," Punk's muffled voice said from where it was burried under a pillow.

"Come on it's a nice day. I thought we'd go outside on the roof and talk. It has to be better then staying in your room all day. Oh and Cornette called. He wants you to call back ASAP."

"Don't care. I just want to stay right here."

Colt ignored him as he opened a window. "Cornette seemed really excited when he called. He said ROH wants to talk to you about a contract but wants to know when you will be available. I let him know that your 90 day no compete clause had been waived. I explained you aren't allowed back to work yet because of the wheelchair and he said they'll wait. Oh and Dixie Carter called," he said rolling his eyes. "She said TNA wants to talk about a deal but I told her you weren't interested."

"Thanks," Punk said still not moving the pillow away.

"Aw come on Punk you really can't stay in bed all day," Colt said, "so you don't have a job. Think of it was vacation. Did I mention that the WWE would still pay your medical bills? You got a fax earlier today from the legal department saying that your bills will still be paid for. See things are looking up."

"Colt?"

"Yeah buddy?"

"Go away."

* * *

"Thanks for coming," Colt said as he opened the door. "I figured if anyone could get him to leave his room it would be you."

"I don't know what I can do but I'll try," Ace Steel said as he surveyed the apartment. He hadn't been in Punk's apartment in a couple of months and it seemed cleaner then usual.

"Well you're our mentor, I figured you could you know mentor. He's been pretty depressed since they fired him."

"I bet." Ace said as he walked up to Punk's room. He knocked on the door. "Punk? It's Ace. Can I come in?"

"No," came the response.

Ace looked at Colt who just shrugged. "I figured we could sit in your living room and talk. Maybe play a game on the Xbox or something."

"No I'm fine in here."

"I never figured you for a quitter Phil," Ace said.

"I'm not a quitter," came the response. "I'm a realist. My career's done. I might as well stay in here."

"I figured you'd be fighting WWE on the firing. Going to an independent show is a bigger transgression then having someone ran over?"

"And they gave the guy who ran him over a job as General Manager," Colt told Ace.

"I'd be suing them," Ace said. "Hey if you come out I'll call the attourney you used last year when you were ironing out your contract. I'm sure you have a case."

There was silence.

"Punk?"

The door opened and Punk came rolling out.

"You mean that's all I had to do," Colt asked with a surprised look on his face.

"That's why I'm the mentor and you are the mentoree," Ace answered. "What's the number?"

Punk gave it to him. He was starting to feel a little better. Ace was right. Maybe he could get some revenge for what had been happening to him.

* * *

Notes: Off to Disneyland for a week so no writing from me.


	24. Homecoming?

Notes: I started the sidestory where Punk is kidnapped by the New Church. You can find it in my profile it's called When it all Falls Down: TNA Story. Sorry links don't work in stories.

* * *

_Oh, well I'm going home,__  
__Back to the place where I belong,__  
__I'm not running from.__  
__No, I think you got me all wrong.__  
__I don't regret this life I chose for me._

_Home by Daughtry_

Hunter didn't want to make this call but knew he'd have to. He was sure Vince already knew though. He stared at the piece of paper that had arrived by a server. He had to hand it Punk. This was brilliant.

The phone rang twice before Vince answered. "Hello?"

"Vince it's me. We just received a certified letter from CM Punk."

"Is he begging for his job back?" Vince asked. Hunter could tell his father-in-law was smiling.

"No he's suing us."

"What?!" Vince yelled. "How dare he sue us? We are paying for his medical bills. He should be glad we aren't suing him for going to that second rate show! Did you send it down to legal to handle?"

"I thought I'd let you know first." Hunter said trying not to laugh. Vince hadn't even considered this happening. "He's suing us for dangerous work environment and wrongful termination of employment. He's also asking that we pay for his medical bills."

"Isn't he the guy who said this wasn't ballet? Why is he suddenly saying it's a dangerous environment?"

"Maybe because he got hit by a car!"

"He should be suing Paul Heyman and not us," Vince continued obviously not understanding the situation.

"I'm sure he is," Hunter said, "but right now he's suing us. We need to handle this situation seriously," Hunter said. "He can easily argue that he was only there in the audience and had no intention of wrestling on the show. I actually read his contract. It said he wouldn't compete for another company while under contract with the WWE. There's nothing about not being in the audience. We've got a problem Vince and now we have to fix it."

"Punk can't win this," Vince said before hanging up.

Hunter shook his head not completely sure how he felt about this situation. He looked at the summons again. There was nothing in it about Punk being rehired. Punk didn't want to come back. That did not make this any better.

* * *

Punk stared across the table at the men who sat there. Jim Cornette, Cary Silkin, and Ross Abrams were looking at him expectantly. He turned his attention back to the window that overlooked the ROH dojo where a new class of students was starting their training. It felt weird being back in this building after being gone for seven years. It had been Cornette's idea to meet there and he was glad to be there.

"Punk," Cary said trying to get his attention. He turned to face the President of Ring of Honor. "When did your doctor say you could return to TV?"

"When I'm more mobile," Punk said patting the arm of the wheelchair that he was sitting in. "I'm not sure when that will be. When I'm out of the chair, on crutches, or when I'm able to walk without the aid of something. He hasn't said. He's um a little concerned about me not being able to move out of the way if something happens."

"Understandable," Cornette said, "though I don't think you'll have to worry about anybody trying to end your career with a car."

"Yeah," Punk said looking away. He had a lot on his mind and maybe he should have put this meeting off. There was so much going on and he didn't even want to think about it. WWE wanted to settle out of court and he was getting phone calls from Hunter asking him to come back. TNA wouldn't give up on trying to get him to come back and he'd even received a phone call from All Japan seeing if he'd be interested in going there when he was able to wrestle again. He just didn't know what he wanted anymore. He didn't want to make plans for a career he didn't know he had.

"Look we understand your reluctance to sign a contract," Cary said, "we can work something out on a show by show basis. Punk," Cary sighed, "we know WWE is hounding you to come back and if you want to go back we'd understand. We wouldn't want you to go but we wouldn't stop you."

"Cary you have nothing to worry about. I don't want to go back to the WWE. There's nothing there I want." Except revenge and until he was back on his feet, he wasn't going to get it. Then again he wasn't sure he wanted it. He didn't want to be back in the WWE a company who was more then happy to find reasons to fire him and promote the people who tried to kill him with a car.

"Punk you don't have to agree to anything right now," Ross said, "just think about it. I know I can speak for everyone in the company when I say I'm glad you are here right now."

"Better then being dead," Punk agreed.

No one laughed.

"Sorry I know that was bad. Do you mind if I go down to the Dojo?"

"By all means," Cary said. The men stood and watched Punk leave the room.

"I don't think he wants to come back to wrestling," Cornette said watching him leave. The fire that was usually in Punk's eyes was gone. He was not the same man who set the wrestling world on fire the year before. He was just a man who thought he was defeated.

* * *

Punk rolled out onto the Dojo floor and watched the action in the ring thinking about the two years he was head trainer there. Delirious looked up from where he was showing one of the trainees a move and said, "hey Punk."

"Hey," he greeted. "Don't mind me I just want to watch."

"Don't be afraid to say anything," Delirious said.

"Don't worry I won't." Punk said with a smile.

He watched the training for an hour. This was the future of wrestling. He remembered the reason he had went back to the WWE last year. He felt it was his duty to make the WWE better for the new generation of wrestlers that were starting out or were you to start. He knew he couldn't do it from his home in Chicago.

Punk turned his wheelchair around and left. He couldn't do it now either.


	25. Vince and Punk Part 2

_Though I don't know how I feel  
But I know I'll do the right thing  
If the right thing is revealed  
'Cause it's always raining in my head_

Epiphany by Staind

CM Punk rolled into the conference room at Titan Towers with his lawyer following right behind him. In the room were Vince, Hunter, Stephanie, and a few people he didn't recognize. He could only assume they were WWE's lawyers. He rolled up to the table.

"Mr. Brooks," one of WWE's lawyers said, "we hope to resolve this matter out of court."

"We agree that would be for the best," Punk's lawyer, Hamilton Rockwell answered. "Mr. Brooks wants it known from the start that he is not interested in coming back to the WWE."

The others in the room seemed surprised by this. One of the lawyer's made a note on his legal pad.

The door to the conference room opened. "Sorry I'm late. The traffic in from the city was awful."

They all turned to see Shane McMahon had entered the room. Punk was a little confused. Shane had left the WWE four years ago.

"Don't worry we've just started," Vince said. "Punk said he's not interested in coming back to the WWE."

"Mr. McMahon," Hamilton said. "All considered please address him as Mr. Brooks and not Punk."

Hunter barely held back a snort. Vince's jaw dropped. Stephanie did not look amused. Shane and the lawyers just nodded. First point to Punk.

"Understood," the lawyer who had been speaking said. "We have been looking through the lawsuit and can understand where Mr. Brooks is coming from. This is what we are prepared to offer. WWE will continue to pay Mr. Brooks' medical bills. He will receive back pay for the past couple of weeks and will also receive six months pay. The no compete clause will still be waived if Punk chooses to go to another company."

The lawyer looked at Shane who nodded.

"This has not been announced yet but Paul Heyman has been relieved of his duties as RAW General Manager. I know that wasn't what you were looking for in your lawsuit Mr. Brooks but Mr. Heyman is under investigation as are Mr. Cena, Mr. Orton, and Miss Mendez."

"I would like to speak to Mr. Brooks first," Hamilton said.

"By all means," another lawyer answered.

Punk and Hamilton had a whispered conversation before Hamilton said, "Mr. Brooks accepts."

* * *

Later that night at a hotel, Punk and Cabana were watching a football game on TV but neither of them was really paying attention.

"What are you going to do now?" Colt asked.

"I've got a doctor's appointment the day after tomorrow and he'll tell me how I'm doing. I'm afraid they'll tell me my knees too fucked up to wrestle again."

"You never know Punker," Colt said, "they might have good news," he changed the subject. "Tell me what Vince did when your lawyer told him that he needed to call you Mr. Brooks."

His jaw literally dropped and his face went almost redder then last June when I walked to the back after I went off on WWE. Hunter was trying not to laugh. I'm glad that Hamilton was my lawyer and not theirs!"

"We have to watch RAW Monday," Colt said, "I can't wait to see Heyman get fired."

"It'll be the best moment of RAW this year."

"Let's have a party," Colt said, "I know we can't tell people that Paul's getting fired but maybe we can tell them it's a Punk's Free party," Colt was already getting excited about the idea of a party. "Dude this is going to be great. We'll invite our families; Ace, Natalie and I don't know whom else. Hey isn't Amy going to be in town?"

"She's arriving Saturday," Punk said. Amy Dumas was his girlfriend. Punk smiled. He was now looking forward to RAW.


	26. Good NewsBad News

Notes: The Brad stuff from HIAC just seemed to work for this fic.

Punk sat in the doctor's office waiting for the doctor to put the x-rays up for him to see. "As you can see here," the doctor said, "the bones are not mending the way they should," he said pointing at a certain part of his arm. "It may have been caused when you re-broke it."

"So what are you saying exactly?"

"Mr. Brooks," the doctor said as he turned to face him. "The way your arm is right now, I do not believe you'll be able to return to wrestling. Also your recent head injury has me very concerned considering your history of head injuries."

"So how do you fix my arm?"

The doctor's long pause was enough of an answer. "I'm sorry Mr. Brooks but…."

"Not as sorry as I am," Punk said.

"The good news is that I think you might be ready to start using just one crutch," the doctor said.

"Who cares?" Punk muttered. "It's not like I'll be back to wrestling. I might as well stay in this wheelchair."

The doctor didn't know how to answer that.

* * *

Hunter was not in the best of moods at RAW that Monday. He had heard rumors that Punk was talking to Ring of Honor and was close to making a deal not that it mattered as Punk had said he wasn't interested in coming back to WWE. There were rumors that Bryan was thinking about jumping ship too. Heyman was making everyone's lives miserable and despite the cage match the previous night, Cena was still champ though he swore he had nothing to do with a rookie ref low blowing Bryan. The only good news was that Heyman was about to be removed from being General Manager.

"Hunter," a voice said from behind him. He turned around to see Orton standing there with a smirk on his face. "Coming to take the title away from Cena? He won fair and square."

"I'm going to get to the bottom of what happened last night Orton but that's not why I'm here. What are you doing here anyway?"

"Paul invited me for the party we are giving Cena. Cena beat Bryan and ran Punk out of the WWE. Glad you are here for the party."

This time Hunter smirked. "I have a couple of announcements to make and you might want to pay special attention to them," Hunter said as he walked away.

Orton glared at the back of the older man before turning away to look for Cena and Heyman. Hunter was up to something and he didn't like it. He wasn't supposed to be here.

* * *

In Chicago Punk was lying on his couch with his knee propped up. Cabana and Ace were in the kitchen getting drinks for everyone. Amy was sitting at the end of the couch and his family was either sitting in chairs or the floor. They didn't know about Heyman being fired but they were told it was an important RAW.

He looked over at his crutch, which was leaning against the wall. He hadn't told anyone about what his doctor had said other then that he could start moving around without the wheelchair. They took it to mean he was getting closer to returning to the ring. He wasn't ready to tell them the truth yet.

Colt and Ace came back into the room with trays of soda, fruit juice, chips, cookies, and vegetables and put them down on the coffee table.

"Vegetables?" Chez said wrinkling her nose.

"Hey Punk eats a lot of boring foods now," Colt said with a shrug. "Gotta have something for him."

Punk moved his hand away from the cookies he was about to grab. "Hey RAW's back on the air," he said changing the subject.

"This better be good," his mom said with a wink.

"Oh trust me it's good," Colt said as he turned up the volume as Paul Heyman's music started.

Paul Heyman came out to the normal boos he was greeted with but he ignored them. He took a mic from Frank before entering the ring. "My name is Paul Heyman," he said. The fans booed. "I am the RAW General Manager."

"As if he needs to remind people," Punk said rolling his eyes. He grabbed cookies knowing he needed something sweet.

"I am also the manager of John Cena. If you didn't watch Hell in a Cell last night then you missed John Cena retaining his title against Daniel Bryan. It was truly a glorious evening last night. The only thing that made it better was knowing the CM Punk has left the WWE and has no plans of ever coming back."

There was a loud We Want Punk chant.

"You can chant that all you want but he's not coming back," Heyman gloated.

"He's making me want to come back just to wipe that awful smile off of his face," Punk said.

Amy reached over and patted his good knee.

"Without further ado I give you the champ," Heyman said gesturing towards the entrance.

The Game started playing.

"No!" Paul yelled.

Hunter game out to cheers.

He entered the ring. "Sorry to interrupt the celebration Paul," Hunter said as he entered the ring.

"Then why are you? This is Cena's time not yours."

"I had a meeting with the WWE Board last week. I'm sure you heard about it as you heard about CM Punk turning down the offer to return. But there's something you haven't heard yet Heyman," Hunter said keeping an eye on the entrance knowing it was possible that Heyman's men could appear at any time. "Is that you have been removed as General Manager of RAW."

"What?!" Heyman yelled. "You can't do that! I did a better job as GM then AJ and Laurinaitis. I even did a better job then the midget! I was the best General Manger Smackdown ever saw. You can't fire me!"

"You've been fired now get out of my ring," he said.

There was a commotion and they turned around to see Lesnar, Cena, and Orton starting to head to the ring. Daniel Bryan, Kofi Kingston, Big Show, and Zack Ryder headed them off. Heyman jumped out of the ring and hurried through the crowd leaving Hunter standing in the ring with a large smile on his face.

In Punk's home everyone was elated.

"Maybe finally Bryan can get a fair chance," Colt said.

"You sure you don't want to go back Phil?" Chez asked. I don't think anyone will get in your way this time."

"No. I'm done," Punk said trying to force a smile on his face. He couldn't tell them that he was done with more just the WWE. He would tell them some other time. Maybe.

* * *

Notes: Things are going to get a bit hectic the next few chapters.


	27. Dayton Brawl

_I took a step in a new direction_

_Following my heart this time and not my head_

_But everything I'm feeling now I question_

_If I'm wrong, what's next?_

_Is there another road that's left?_

Ant Farm episode ChANTses

Punk stood leaning heavily on a crutch at an ROH show. Cornette was telling him about the plans they had for him. He still wasn't ready to tell people his career was over. He just told him that he still wasn't sure when he would be back in the ring and Cornette accepted that.

"Most of the boys are glad to have you back," Cornette continued. "The ones who don't already know you are anxious to meet you. I talked it over with Cary and we both agree that you should be doing commentary until you are ready to compete in the ring again. Which hopefully will be soon."

"Yeah," Punk lied. "Could I just hang out backstage tonight and maybe start at the next TV tapings?"

"Sure whatever you want Punk," he looked up and saw someone was trying to get his attention so he said, "I'll talk to you later."

Punk found an empty chair and sat down. It felt weird to be hanging around backstage at an ROH show again. BJ Whitmer walked by and gave him a nod but didn't stop. He and Punk had issues when he had attacked his girlfriend at the time Lucy. He was completely over it now but he seriously doubted that he and Whitmer would ever be friends.

"I heard you were coming back," a voice said from behind him. He turned around to see Maria standing there. He and Maria had dated when they were both in OVW. They had broken up by the time he was called up to ECW.

"Hi Maria," he greeted.

"Funny how we are both in ROH," she said.

Punk wasn't sure where she was going with this. "Look Maria I have a girlfriend."

She rolled her eyes. "I have a boyfriend. I just came over to say hi," she said and left.

His phone buzzed. He picked it up and frowned at the phone number. It wasn't one he recognized.

"Hello?" He asked.

"CM Punk?" The voice greeted.

"Yeah," he said wondering why the voice sounded familiar but he somehow couldn't place it. Why was this person calling him on his cellphone? 'Who's this and how did you get my number?"

"This is Shane McMahon," the voice answered. "I got your number from your old file. Is there any way you can come to the show next Monday? It's in Dayton."

"Hold on a sec," Punk said as he put his phone in his pocket. He hobbled to a quieter place in the building hoping no one could hear this conversation. "Look Shane I'm not interested. I'm back in ROH."

"I just want to talk to you," he paused. "This is more confidential information so I'd appreciate it if you don't tell anyone."

"I'm listening."

"I'm taking over as RAW General Manager as well as a few other things in WWE. I've got a few ideas and I want to talk to you. From my understanding, you haven't actually signed a contract with ROH yet so there's no harm in coming to Dayton. No pressure."

Punk sighed. He couldn't believe he was about to say this. "Fine."

"Great! I'll email you your flight details. I'll see you then," Shane said and hung up. Punk wondered what he had just gotten himself into.

* * *

Punk sat in the back not liking this one bit. He had no idea how he let them talk him into this. He had had no intention of ever returning to the WWE. His last doctor's appointment helped him make some decisions about his career.

"Punk glad you made it," the new RAW General Manager said. "I know I've been gone a long time but I think I'm caught up on your situation. So when did the doctor think you could wrestle again?"

Punk looked away not wanting to answer the question but he decided he might, as well start even if it was to someone he barely knew. He still hadn't developed the courage to tell his family and friends and it had been almost three weeks since the doctor's appointment. "My arm didn't heal right." He chuckled. "Here I was worried about my knee and it turns out my arm is fucked up. Not to mention my head. He thinks my skull fracture from years ago plus other concussions I've suffered since may hinder my recovery from this concussion. I'm through Shane. You can give up on trying to get me to come back."

"I've been watching tapes and listening to your commentary. You have a gift for talking and we are ready to sign you up as a commentator. We were planning to reinstate the last contract that you signed which gave you a title shot but we'll work something out. Trust me Punk I want to fix Vince's mistakes."

"That's what Hunter told me and look where that led. It led to you."

"Right well I'm not Hunter. I don't answer to the same people he did," he said with a wink.

"Isn't that what every power hungry CEO says," Punk said trying hard not to smile. He wasn't coming back to the WWE. He had decided that before the meeting but here he was sitting backstage at RAW with the new RAW General Manager and everyone backstage was staring at him.

He snorted. "I'm not the CEO of this company though Phil." He said.

"Please don't call me Phil," Punk said, "I don't plan to stay long."

Shane's face fell. "I understand Punk. We were just hoping to get you to come back. I just want you to know the offer will always be there if you change your mind. Stick around tonight. I'm sure everyone wants to talk to you."

"I probably will," Punk said.

"Austin's here by the way," Shane said nodding his head at someone who was standing behind Punk. Punk turned around to see that the Texas Rattlesnake was indeed there.

"Hey CM," he greeted.

"Uh hi," Punk said not expecting to see Austin there. Austin was someone he always wanted to have a match with. He and Austin were a lot alike and he figured it would be a good match.

"Sorry to hear about the accident. I was hoping to wrestle you one day." Austin took a swig of the bear he carried in his hand. "I'd offer you a beer but I know you are straight edge. Do you drink anything?"

"Water."

Austin wrinkled his nose. "Water? Don't have any of those," he sat down in a chair next to Punk.

"Shane trying to get you to come back to the WWE?"

"Nah. I'm just here trying to promote my show and kick Cena's ass."

Punk grinned. "Sounds like a plan to me. Give him an ass kicking for me."

RAW started with a recap video of the RAW in England where Danielson had beaten Cena in a non-title lumberjack match. Punk chuckled as he watched the lumberjacks took a few shots at Heyman before he escaped.

"That's one lumberjack match I would have enjoyed being in," Punk said to Austin. Then something was said that caught Punk's attention.

"What has Paul Heyman done to deserve this? He gets fired as General Manager and then beaten up by wrestlers. There's no justice."

Punk grabbed his crutch and limped to the entrance of the arena. He may not have worked for WWE anymore but he had to correct Michael Cole.

"Wait," one of the security guards, said moving to stop Punk.

"Let him go out there," Shane said.

"But we don't have his music!"

Punk shook his head as he walked through the curtain. He didn't need music. The fans were cheering.

"What's he doing here?" Cole demanded. "He doesn't even work here anymore!"

Punk went over to where the ring announcer sat and took the mic that he was offered. He stood, leaning on his crutch, to face Michael Cole. Michael Cole's face went white.

"You have the audacity to ask what did Heyman do to deserve being fired as General Manager? Seriously? Where were you when I got ran over in Chicago?" He demanded. "Because that damn sure seems like a good reason to fire someone! I know because I got fired for lesser things like not wanting to hand over my title! My career is over and you want to know what Heyman did to deserve being fired as General Manager?" He knew he was close to losing it but he didn't care. He had so much pent up anger he had to get it out.

"Calm down Punk," Lawler said seeing how close Punk was to punching Cole. He actually would have loved to see that happen after everything he went through last year with Cole.

"I will not calm down!" Punk yelled.

"Look I'm sorry," Cole said. "You are right! Heyman did deserve to be fired for that."

"Punk look out!" King yelled as he threw his headset down.

Punk swung around with his crutch to catch Cena in midsection. While Punk was yelling he hadn't noticed that Cena had jumped the railing.

Lawler went to help when Brock Lesnar grabbed him from behind. Cole moved away from both of them not wanting to get caught in the middle of this. Punk and Cena wrestled over the crutch before Cena hit Punk square in the knee. Punk went down hard clutching at his knee with his one free hand, which left him vulnerable for Cena to attack him. He started punching him in the head so Punk covered up his head and then Cena attacked his knee.

"Here!" Heyman said handing him a chair. He had come down the ramp only a moment before.

Cena hit Punk in the head. Punk was out.

* * *

Austin stood in the back watching what was going on. "Why isn't security going out to help them?" He asked as he made his way to the gorilla position. Backstage seemed rather empty at the moment. Where did everyone go? He wondered as he grabbed a chair from backstage and went through the curtain not waiting for an answer. He went to the ring with the chair and hit first Cena and then Lesnar. Heyman ran before he could hit him. He stood there daring Lesnar and Cena to make a move but they walked away.

Joshua walked over to them and started inspecting Punk who hadn't moved since the chair shot to the head.

* * *

Notes: Wow I know what an ending for the chapter.


	28. Crash!

"Punk," Joshua asked as he opened one of Punk's eyelids. "Can you hear me?" He frowned at what he saw. This wasn't good. "Was he hit in the head at all?" He asked Lawler. Cole was standing as far away as possible.

"Yeah he got hit in the head with a chair," Lawler said.

Joshua cursed. He turned to the timekeeper. "I need you to call for a stretcher."

The timekeeper hurried to do so.

"Hey we've got to move quickly," Cole said. "The truck wants to get RAW going again."

"This man may have a serious head injury and we will move him only when we have a stretcher."

Cole backed away again.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Shane McMahon made their way to ringside followed by a stretcher.

"How is he?" Shane asked.

"I don't like how his pupils are reacting," Joshua said before moving out of the way to allow the other EMTs to move in and strap on a neck brace. They were careful as they lifted Punk onto the stretcher.

Hunter, Austin, Joshua, and the medics left ringside. Shane stood there at ringside glaring at Cole before picking up the mic that Punk had dropped when he was struggling with Cena.

"I guess this is as good of a time to make this announcement," Shane said as he walked into the ring. "I am the new RAW General Manager and my first decree is, John Cena you are fired!"

* * *

John Cena spun around from where he was standing backstage with Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman. "He can't do that!" He yelled at Heyman.

"Calm down," Paul said, "he can't do it. He's not on the board. They'll overturn it. Just give them time. Besides you're world champion. They can't fire you."

"Why not?" Cena asked. "They fired Punk."

Heyman frowned at the reminder. Cena was right. "What's Shane McMahon doing here anyway?" He demanded. "I thought he was CEO of a company in Colorado. Hunter was maneuverable but Shane could be a wild card."

In the ring Shane was just finishing his announcements. "The main event will be a battle royal with the last two wrestlers wrestling for the vacant WWE title at Survivor Series."

"You have got to be kidding me!" Cena yelled. "There's a battle royal for my title? Let's go out there.,.."

"Make one move towards the ring Cena," a voice said from behind them, "and I swear to God I will have you arrested."

They turned around to see the Game standing there looking pissed. Also with him were the security guards that he and Heyman had locked into a room.

Cena turned and walked towards the lockerroom vowing that the WWE hadn't seen the last of him.

* * *

Colt Cabana entered Samoa Joe's kitchen the next morning feeling rested. He had been in LA working more on the sequel to his backstage diaries documentary. Joe had given Punk the key to the apartment but Punk had told him Joe wouldn't mind if he stayed there.

He picked up his cellphone and listened to his voice mails.

"Colt? It's Chez. I'm not sure where you are right now but you need to get to Dayton. Phil…" her voice shook a little. "Phil was hurt really bad last night and he's in ICU at Good Samaritan Hospital. He's in a coma and…" her voice shook some more. "They don't know if he'll make it."

* * *

Notes: Yep I decided to end it there. Look for the sequel Rock Bottom sometime in the future. Title is subject to change.


End file.
